Ties That Bind
by A Lone Black Rose
Summary: It has been three months since Victoria came to their universe, bringing a light that the SGC had sorely needed. But now, sinister shadows stir and SG-1 might find themselves questioning the integrity of the system they rely on so heavily.
1. Chapter 1: A Different Sort Of Normal

**Hello dears, I'm back and with the some-what anticipated sequel to **_**It's Not Easy Being Green **_**(I figured since 100 per cent of the reviewers for Meanwhile asked for this, I would give it to you). I'll try to update every Monday, but I'm slated to move in a couple weeks so things may get a bit tricky then, but I'll do my best. **

**Not going to give you much in the way of plot summary other than what's already up, but so far it's shaping up rather well and I'm maybe one-third of the way through writing. That being said, I would still like reviews. Please. They help with the rough bits.  
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**Now, without further ado, **_**Ties That Bind…**_

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><p><strong>Ties That Bind<strong>

**Chapter 1  
>In which a different normal is established and there an exchange of Jell-O at a high velocity.<strong>

"Sag, gin, ninda, šu, še…" Victoria Logan muttered, rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to ward off a headache. The pictures below were mocking her, she was sure of it, their little wedges dancing around and refusing to conform to the usual rules of ancient Mesopotamian grammar. The teen grunted, letting her head fall through her hands to thud on the desk, pain radiating briefly but quickly receding as the blissful dark soothed her eyes.

Just over a month had gone by since her 'swearing in,' as Jack had dubbed it, and the green girl had carved a little niche for herself, residing somewhere between human forklift and chief underling to the high nerds.

If one asked General Hammond, she was Dr. Jackson's assistant.

With that thought, she glanced at her watch (which had, until recently, been Ferreti's) and groaned again, the numbers glowing 0247 back. She leaned back, relishing the pops that ran up her spine, and closed her eyes, concentrating.

In the three months away from her reality, the teen's psychic abilities had improved greatly, allowing her to seek out familiar presences and check on them, so to speak. This being said, she sought her boss, mentally noting that her friends were in their usual spots.

Teal'c was in his room, candles lit, and meditating, Dr. Frasier on her midnight rotation, a crossword out if her thoughts were any indication, and the rest of the people she knew had gone home, Sam giggling over her motorbike and Jack saying something about a telescope.

V drew back, checking the room down the hall and was unsurprised to find it unoccupied. Seven floors up and over a few halls was where the illusive Dr. Jackson currently presided.

A chuckle left her throat and she stood, debating whether or not to wander over to Daniel's office and force him to go to bed. Again.

Sending one last, longing look at her bed, Victoria headed for the door, intent on making the cerebral doctor see reason and the sheets.

* * *

><p>SG-1's archeologist was running on all cylinders when the changeling walked in, furiously writing in one of the many notebooks that littered his office. She paused for a moment, observing him work, before deciding that he really wasn't ignoring her, he was just, as usual, in his own world.<p>

"Dobrý den, lékaři Jackson," Victoria said, trying out the fruits of her intermittent language lessons with him.

Daniel jumped, confirming her suspicions, and offered a smile. "Good morning. Sounds like you've been practicing."

She nodded, pushing off the doorframe and entering the Sanctum Sanctorum.

"In between dragging broken MALPs down to Seiler and translating that god-awful script from P4X-114, yeah." The teen made a face and he chuckled. A second later she shot him a sharp look. "What did I get wrong?"

The scientist grinned sheepishly. "You used the wrong title. 'Lékaři' is 'physician,' specifically, not doctor."

The teen snapped her fingers, pouting. "Don't tell me. Doktor?" He nodded and she swore.

"Now, what can I help you with, other than your Czech vocabulary?"

"I came to send you to bed; it's three in the morning," she deadpanned, crossing her arms.

Just as she though, Daniel hadn't realized the fact, his mouth opening slightly and his head inclining a touch. He checked his watch, confirming her words, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Um…give me a couple of minutes to finish an-"

"The last time you said 'a couple minutes,' Dr. Jackson," she cut in, pursing her lips, "you were still up an hour and a half later working on the same two lines of text."

He had the decency to look bashful, murmuring something about poorly carved hieroglyphics as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Not this time. You're going to bed _now_, even if I have to drag you there myself." The archeologist paled slightly at this, knowing she wasn't kidding.

"Alright, fine. Let me just…" he trailed off, avoiding her glare.

Black energy encased his notebook, a spare sheet of paper settling between the pages to mark his spot before closing with a soft thud.

A wry chuckle escaped him and he walked around the island, tiredness seeping in as he did so.

"You never told me what you were doing up at this hour," he said conversationally, walking with Victoria out of the office and locking it behind him, more out of habit then necessity.

"The god-awful script from P4X-114," she replied. "The stupid thing is written in Cuneiform but doesn't follow the grammar rules of ancient Sumerian in the least."

The linguist pondered this, pressing the lift button and leaning against the wall to wait. "What era does it look like?"

She blew a strand of now-chest-length hair out of her face before replying. "The closest I can find is 2400's, but some of it goes so far as to use the later styles."

"Ah, interesting. I'll take a look at it tomorrow, if you want."

"You mean later today?"

"Wise guy," he muttered good-naturedly, entering the elevator as the doors opened.

"Blame Jack," the teen replied, hitting the button for 25 before scratching her scalp, a yawn overtaking her.

They rode in relative silence, trying not to fall asleep in the elevator again (thankfully Seiler had been the first to find them and woken them without getting blackmail material), and bode each other pleasant dreams before retiring to their respective rooms.

Neither were conscious enough to notice the large, unblinking eyes that followed them, reeking of foul intentions.

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><p>"Squiiiiiiiirt…" a sing-song voice called, permeating the warm, heavy fog of sleep that Victoria was currently nestled in. She waved the owner away, rolling over and relaxing once more; she had been in the midst of a lovely dream involving certain blue-eyed parties that shall go unnamed.<p>

"Oi, squirt," the voice was back, more insistent this time and again in her face. The teen growled, shoving the intruder away again and attempting to avoid him. Seconds later, he was back.

"Squirt!" he barked, snapping her out of her dreams abruptly.

She shot up, letting loose a small wave of power and looking around in a panic. Her eyes found one Jack O'Neill standing beside the wall, arms and a leg raised and surrounded by four books, several sheets of paper, two small paperweights and a large purple plush orangutan. Teal'c stood by the foot of her bed looking mildly amused.

"Jack, what the hell are you doing here?" she grumbled, digging her fingers into her once-neat braid and glancing at the clock: 0847. "And why in god's name did you wake me up so early?"

He pursed his lips, looking like he really wanted to say…something, but decided against it, still sporting the bruises from his attempts to wake the teen the week previous and therefore really having no reason to complain.

"It's Friday, Squirt," he said simply, picking up the stuffed ape and looking at it oddly.

This, at the current time and level of sleep deprivation, meant nothing to her. "Wha…?"

"It's Friday," he repeated, reaching out of her line sight and pulling up what looked like a bag of water-balloons and a large box of instant Jell-O.

This woke her up, reminding her of their previous "Ferreti Friday" arrangements made between the three and SG-4.

She glanced back at the stoic Jaffa and he smiled frighteningly, lifting a previously concealed Super-Soaker.

Victoria grinned. "I'll be right out."

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><p>When Victoria finally made it to the linguistics library to give Daniel the pictures of the Sumerian runes and her notes on the subject, she was dressed in clean clothes but her hair was pulled into a pony tail, soaking wet and she smelled faintly of orange. The teen knocked on the door, somewhat disappointed when Dr. Davis opened it.<p>

Dr. Natalie Davis was tall, thin and pale with thick blonde hair and luminous blue eyes that were always framed in the perfect amount of liner. She was intelligent, gorgeous and hated the changeling with a vehemence.

"What do you want?" she asked, looking down her nose at the teen.

Victoria's eye twitched and she plastered on a sweet smile. "Sorry to bother you, Dr. Davis, but I'm looking for Da-Dr. Jackson." She quickly amended her statement, seeing the spark in the older woman's eye. "I checked his office but he wasn't there."

"He's very busy, dear." The faux endearment slid like rancid Jell-O off her tongue. "Just go, put it on his desk, or something. I'm sure he'll get it, eventually." She waved dismissively and began to close the door, only to be stopped by a voice from within.

"Is that Victoria?"

The girl in question barely bit back a smirk and looked over Natalie's shoulder. "Yeah, it's me, Dr. J. I've got those Sumerian pictures and translations you asked for," she called, waving the folder over the other woman's head, getting an odd look as to why it was in a large plastic bag.

"Oh, excellent. Come in, come in."

She did so, dodging under the arm of an irate Dr. Davis and walking up to her friend. He smiled and thanked her before sending her a questioning look about the zip-lock as well as her unusual aroma.

"It's Friday," she replied. He stared at her a moment, then nodded his understanding, mouth forming a small 'O' as the memory surfaced. The sight of whipped cream still made him shudder.

Dr. Davis remained by the door, fingernails slowly digging into the metal of it as she grew increasingly irritated.

"Great, you gave him the file, now run along. Dr. Jackson and I have work we really must get back to."

"Oh, sorry for interrupting, Daniel. I'll get out of your way," the teen said quickly, using his first name simply to tick off the blonde. "We still on for Cuneiform over lunch?"

The long man's eyes shot between the two, reading the tension easily and disregarding the fact that they had, in actuality, made no plans. "Yeah, sure. 1230, you said?"

"Yup. See you then!" The teen all but skipped out the door, stopping at the jamb. "I'll be around at 1245 to get you when you forget," she called cheerily before turning back to the hall. Without warning, she dropped into a split, catching a large water-bomb with black energy and screaming "Oi! I told you I was out, Ferreti!"

The doctors looked on in shock as she rose and charged after the major, the latter cackling like mad as they rounded a corner.

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><p>"Any updates?"<p>

"Nothing noteworthy, sir."

"It's been a month since your initial report. We need more information if we are to proceed."

"The girl rarely leaves the base, and when she does it is usually with a group consisting of SG's 1 and 3. They're out for several hours and return the same day. When she's not with one team or the other, she's in her quarters on base or in the Linguistics Library."

"Then find out when she's alone."

"That's the point; in her time here, she's made friends with some rather powerful people and she's _always_ with them."

"What is it you're not telling us?"

"…At this moment, it is unlikely she would join us. Her ties to the SGC's personnel are too strong."

"Then we will find out the secret behind her abilities. Get Frasier's file on her and we'll see if there's anything of use there. If not, we will be forced to follow the initial plan."

"I don't know if I can get her alone long enou—"

"We will not tolerate excuses any longer. Get us Frasier's file. Do not contact us until you have it."

"Understood."

"She's too powerful to be left alone. If she found one of you out, from what you and the other operatives have reported, our entire operation could be compromised."

"Yeah, I know… Over and out."

He threw the device across the room, with an angry grunt, dragging fingers through a short military cut. This deal got worse all the time.


	2. Chapter 2: No Love Lost

**Hello dears, second chap is here and ready for you! At the moment I've written up to 7, but I seem to have gotten stuck; I should have that sorted by the time we get there, though, so don't worry. **

**To all of you I personally PMed to tell you that this was up and going, would it kill you to leave a review? There are **twelve **of you watching and I only have three reviews. Is two extra minutes of your time so much to ask for after the hours I put into my work? If it is, then forget I mentioned it.**

**To **_Saffygirl_ **and **_Sandstripe_**, glad I'm continuing to hold up you standards and to **_Jen-NCIS-Lover_** it's nice to hear your voice for the first time here and on **_**INEBG**_**. **

**Here's the second installment, dears, and it's for you three.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<br>In which a professional gets help from a teen, a different professional loses her cool, a doctor gets annoyed and someone does some sneaking.**

Dr. Davis closed the library door with a snap, a scowl marring her lovely features; she really didn't know why Dr. Jackson put up with the irritating teen, always letting her hang about or taking time out of his busy schedule to teach her Czech or Russian or some other inane modern language that had no bearing on their work.

Shaking the feeling off somewhat, she plastered a smile on her face and turned back into the room.

"Sorry about the interruption, Dr. Jackson," she said apologetically, settling back down to her notes - a large stack of Goa'uld-to-Egyptian-to-English translations.

"Oh, it's fine. I asked Victoria asked her to give me these last night," he replied, flipping through the folder with a grimace. "She wasn't kidding when she said these were a mess…"

The blonde shot him a sharp look. "She unloaded her work on you?"

"No, not really," he said, glancing up at her over his glasses. "Considering it was my work to begin with, she was actually quite helpful."

Davis pursed her lips but remained silent, returning to her work without another word.

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><p>When 1230 finally rolled around and Daniel, shockingly enough, was nowhere to be found, Victoria did a quick sweep of the base only to find him exactly where she had left him; Linguistics Library on level 18.<p>

After another shower to was the most recent round of Jell-O off (blue raspberry this time), Victoria made her was back to the Hall of Language Dorks, kindof really hoping Dr. Davis wasn't there.

She knocked and let herself in a second later when she got no answer. The teen looked around, violet eyes scanning the room, pausing when she found her boss-man. In the exact position she had left him in. Mostly.

Well his glasses were on his head now and there were different incredibly thick tomes surrounding him, but that didn't count.

"Dobrý den, _doktor_ Jackson," she said just loud enough for him to hear her as she leaned against a bookshelf.

He jumped slightly, as he usually did, and looked up, squinting at the green-ish blur. "Victoria."

She smiled and nodded as the glasses came down, squelching the thought of how cute he looked without them. "The one and only."

The linguist smiled at her before recalling her earlier words; the grin fell away as he checked his watch: 1243.

"I'm sorry, Victoria. I got-" he began.

"Caught up in…fill in the blank," she finished with a smile. "It's fine, Daniel. If you remember correctly, I said I would be here around 1245 when you forgot."

He chuckled slightly, cheeks colouring, and she vaulted over the desk, landing on his head as a small monkey before sliding to his shoulder and peering at his papers.

_**Whatcha workin' on, anywho?**_

"The Sumerian scripts you gave me earlier." Used to her antics, he simply brought up his own scribbling on the work. "I can see why you were having trouble; it's an abstract dialect that I had to route through Hebrew."

The primate dropped to the desk, looking through the sheets and nodding.

_**Oh, I see it. I don't know much Hebrew.**_

"That's probably why you were having trouble with it," Daniel replied, lifting his Sharpie to continue, only to have it yanked from his hand, the purple Capuchin clutching it in her tail and scampering up the nearest bookshelf.

_**Nuh huh, doc. You owe me a lunch date, remember?**_

He stared for a moment, not really sure if he should be irritated or amused, before settling on the latter, closing the nearest book with the pictures and translations stuck in to keep the page.

"You're right."

The monkey squinted, climbing down and perching on the edge of the desk for a moment. Daniel blinked and the green teen was back, Sharpie in hand and still squinting.

"Who are you and what have you done with Dr. Daniel Jackson," she asked suspiciously.

The archeologist blinked.

"When have you _ever_ given up that easily?"

His stomach growled loudly and he offered a sheepish grin. The teen raised a brow.

"That explains it." She shot him an accusing look. "You didn't eat breakfast, did you?"

Daniel didn't get a chance to answer as the green girl seized his hand and dragged him out of the library, fully intent on shoving a three course meal down his throat.

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><p>Natalie glowered as Dr. Jackson and their…<em>guest<em> went by, the former laughing good-naturedly as he was hauled past. She sniffed derisively before continuing to her office.

For the life of her, the doctor could truly not understand why the teen was tolerated; she was obnoxious, she was loud, she incited the least professional behavior in the military personnel, especially Colonel O'Neill.

The linguist shouldered her way into her cramped office, dropping her mound of papers on the desk and shutting the door. Honestly, it was sickening the way the base's second in command ran about like a pre-pubescent with water pistols and balloons filled with Jell-O and whipped cream.

She glanced at the tiny wall, where her two doctorates hung, showing off to, well…the maintenance guy. No-one came into her office, no-one ever needed to. She wasn't important enough.

Dr. Davis stared at them, the usual feeling of pride she associated absent. Now, they just represented nearly a third of her life, boiled down to two sheets of paper. A third or her life gone, only so she could be bumped off by some stupid, green, _vegetable_ of a teenager.

Emerald skin, both surrounding and surrounded by amethyst came to mind and one of the panes of glass shattered, the paperweight that struck it falling to the cabinet and bouncing behind out of sight.

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><p>"So, really, all you really have to do is apply the Middle-Hebrew rules of grammar to the script, mix in some early Greek and it becomes almost legible," Daniel said around a mouthful of chicken, the dual incentives of ravenousness and excitement clashing.<p>

Victoria sat across from him, somewhat astounded that a person could breathe while ingesting three platefuls of teriyaki chicken with mashed potatoes and explaining the intricacies of an alien language. She smiled, chewing on her ravioli and absorbing the doctor's teachings, a part of her almost regretting bringing up the project.

The archeologist paused long enough to put his fork down, taking a glance around the room; he and the teen were the only ones left in the commissary, the lunch crowd having left forty some-odd minuets ago. He turned back to his grinning companion.

"I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

She feigned innocence. "Doing what?"

"Boring you with very long and detailed explanations that pertain to almost nothing."

"Oh, quite the contrary, I found it fascinating." She lifted her mug of juice, bringing it up before pausing. "The rest of the base may not have found it as such." The teen quickly knocked the container back, trying to hide her widening grin as a pea was flicked at her.

"Alright, I get the hint. You choose the topic," Daniel shot back, leaning back in his chair and relaxing.

She opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by the door opening and the base's CMO striding in.

"Oh jeeze, what did I do this time?" the changeling muttered, avoiding the archeologist's amused glance.

Janet heard her and quickly moved to their table, offering a nod to Daniel in greeting.

"You missed your appointment with me this morning, Victoria," the doctor chastised, crossing her arms.

The teen looked sheepish. "Oh yeah…That was today, wasn't it?"

"Mhmm. Major Ferreti was kind enough to explain why you missed it." She raised an accusing brow.

Victoria muttered a rather unkind phrase in Latin, earning a snort of concealed laughter from her boss and a minute quirk of lip from the healer.

"Can you take me tomorrow afternoon, Janet?" the teen asked. Dr. Frasier leveled a look at her. "I'm saving you work by forcing Daniel into a semi-normal routine of food and rest!" she protested, gesturing at the geek in front of her.

Daniel opened his mouth to protest, only to be cut off by the petite woman.

"That is true… Alright. Tomorrow at 1300 hours, be in my office." With that, she turned, leaving the mess hall and the nerds.

Several moments passed before the scientist turned to the changeling. "'Saving her work'?"

Victoria offered an accusatory glance, leaning over the table.

"Admit it, before I came along, you were sucking down coffee and aspirin like nobody's business, then getting treated for it by Dr. Frasier."

He couldn't really argue the point, so he covered by taking a large bite of pie and mumbling a "Maybe" around it.

She snickered at her victory and stood. "I'd go easy on that if I were you. You're coming with me to the gym after we're done."

The archeologist nearly choked on the pastry as the teen sauntered away, placing her dishes in the designated bin.

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><p>He gulped, looking around to be sure his surroundings where clear before sneaking through the door; if he had timed this right, it would be another eight minutes before the duty nurse made her way back to the office, giving him more than enough time to grab the girl's file and get out.<p>

The small room was empty, as he predicted, and he quickly began opening drawers, searching for the correct one; he didn't know her last name, that particular bit of information never quite filtering to him, so he was forced to go through every file, checking each 'Victoria' the base had in hopes of finding her quickly.

By the time he reached the 'L's' he had begun to worry, his innards clenching as he found the fourth Victoria the base employed. A sigh of relief left him as he read through the first page, finding the hair and skin colour that matched the target.

This brief respite was broken as the sound of someone approaching reached his ears and he slammed the drawer shut, crouching down to avoid detection.

The click of heels entered the room, circling the shelves and he silently crept around, sneaking out as the occupant began to search for their own files.


	3. Chapter 3: Wagers and shadows

**Hello there lovelies, Chapter Three ready and waiting. First off, a shout-out to the usual suspects, i.e. **_Saffygirl_** and **_Sandstripe_**, as well as **_Jen-NCIS-Lover_**. You dears make life worth living. Sort of.**

**Next, welcome back **_GallifreyanGhostGirl_**; I missed you. Welcome to the fold **_Major Simi_** and to **_Porta-Viator_**, it was my pleasure, I only hope that they're both worth your time.**

**Trying a little something new this week; there's a teaser at the end of this chapter for Chapter Four (good song… it's on right now…) and there will be for each succeeding chapter. 'Cause I love to tease you :P. **

**Now, without further ado, Chapter Three of **_**Ties That Bind**_**.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<br>In which bets are made, butts are kicked, and things are exchanged in parks.**

"Remember, don't go too easy on me, Teal'c," Victoria said, entering the training ring with the appropriate gloves and padding. Her usual attire was folded neatly in the woman's locker room, now sporting a pair of Sam's sweat pants and a spare tank from the Base stores.

The Jaffa offered an amused grin. "I will endeavour not to, Victoria Logan."

Daniel and Jack stood to the side, watching at the combatants circled each other.

"How long has this been going on?" the geek asked, somewhat nervous as the teen took the first swing, missing the comparative giant.

"Couple 'a weeks," O'Neill responded, toweling his brow. "Doc Frasier said that she could start exercising then and Squirt wanted combat practice.

"Does Janet know that _this_ is her activity?" Daniel asked, mildly amused.

Jack sent him a sidelong glance. "Not exactly, per se. She knows that V trains with me and T, but the _fighting_ part is not really stated."

"Ah. And them?" the archeologist gestured over his shoulder at Ferreti and co, several SF's huddling about as well.

The colonel surveyed them before responding. "They like betting."

Daniel shot him a sharp look. "On what, exactly?"

"Mostly match length, number of touches. That sort of thing."

Dr. Jackson relaxed a tad and went back to watching the match, noticing for the first time just how muscular his assistant was. She wasn't bulky, by any means, but had the sleek tone that suggested flexibility and functional strength. Then again, he had seen her turning back flips the day before, so it probably shouldn't have been a surprise.

Within a few minutes the fight was over, the pouting teen flat on her back as several airmen cheered, others groaning as Teal'c helped her up.

"Nice job, Squirt," O'Neill praised, offering a water bottle. "You lasted a whole four minutes longer that time."

She glared at him over the nozzle, drinking deeply before responding. "How about you and I have a round, Jack?"

Several of the crowed 'ooed' at this and the colonel chuckled.

"Nah, I don't want to embarrass you in front of your _boss_." He gestured at Daniel and the teen smirked.

"How about this: you and me, straight hand-to-hand, not boxing. If you win, you get my Monster," the teen offered. (For those of you too young to remember, the Monster is the original huge Super Soaker, its brother the Monster XL holding the Guinness World Record for biggest water gun ever produced. Look it up, it's awesome.)

Their spectators murmured loudly at this and Jack pondered this; the weapon was a huge mark up from his own water pistol, second only to Teal'c's XL in the Friday games.

He glanced down suspiciously. "And if you win?"

She smirked. "You talk to General Hammond about me going on a mission with you guys."

O'Neill pondered this, weighing the odds: on the one hand, he was a highly trained ex-special forces colonel with several hundred hours of combat practice under his belt. On the other, she was the kid of a couple superheroes.

"No powers," he said, sliding the towel off his shoulder. The teen grinned.

"No powers," she agreed.

Daniel looked between them in horror.

"Best of three?" Jack tossed the terrycloth into a cubby, cracking his neck.

"Make it five, you need the exercise," Victoria shot back sweetly and placed the water bottle aside.

"Ferreti, feel like refereeing?"

The major laughed loudly and agreed, walking to the ring. Daniel rushed to the girl's side.

"Victoria, are you sure that this is such a good idea?" he asked worriedly.

She offered a reassuring shoulder-pat. "I'll be fine, Daniel. It's only for fun. Besides," she gave a somewhat frightening smile. "I had a real good teacher back in Jump City."

He wasn't calmed and watched with more than a little trepidation as she walked onto the mat.

"Okey, ladies, here's the rules," Ferreti barked. "No kidney shots, no low blows, no biting, that means you, Squirt." The teen blew a raspberry at him. "Try not to KO, we don't want Napoleon down here, and don't permanently damage anything or one. Got it?"

The fighters nodded.

"Once in a hold, you get a ten-count. If you're out before that, you're safe. If not, you lose that round. Again, try not to knock out and keep the blood to a minimum, we just got the mats cleaned. Off the mats is out if it's more than a five-count. Ready?"

Victoria and Jack nodded once more and Ferreti backed up.

"Alright, then, on my count. One, two…"

Muscles bunched beneath tan and green skin alike in preparation, eagerly awaiting the signal.

"Three!"

They lunged, the teen using her small stature to her advantage and slipping under the colonel's defenses.

_Remember, you don't have to stronger, simply use your opponent's strength against them._

The comforting voice of her mentor rang in Victoria's head and she dropped to one leg, sweeping the other under Jack's and toppling him. The second he hit the floor she was on his back, sitting on his shoulder blades and holding his limbs down.

Ferreti was so shocked he forgot to start counting; he was prompted by the teen clearing her throat as her opponent began to struggle.

"…eight, nine, ten."

She released the colonel, hopping off his back as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Still think you're going to get my water gun, Jack?" Victoria asked with a smirk, bouncing from foot to foot to keep her blood pumping.

He leveled a stare at her, rubbing his wrists to get the blood flow back. "Oh, yeah. You just wait, Squirt."

"Bring it."

* * *

><p>The next two fights went to Jack, the one after going to the teen, until they were staring each other down, listening to Ferreti count the last match off.<p>

Victoria scanned him, her senses going into overdrive as her teacher's voice echoed through her head.

_Remember the weak spots, the most effective of them being the mind._

"Three!"

She feigned left, dropping to a knee and rolling out of the colonel's reach as he lunged; she came up sloppy, wobbling in a manner that wasn't lost on the man.

He paused and the teen attacked, pulling him into a half-nelson right in front Teal'c.

"Perhaps it was not wise of you to agree to this, O'Neill," the Jaffa commented as a green arm encircled Jack's neck.

The human's only response was a strangled choke as he scrambled to get a leg under himself, throwing his weight backwards. Victoria anticipated the move, flipping the colonel over onto his stomach and once more immobilizing his limbs.

Once Ferreti's count was through, they separated, both heaving like wounded buffalo as SF's cheered or moaned behind them, the sounds dependant on the sides they had bet on.

Daniel and Teal'c joined their friends on the mat, bearing full water bottles and towels for the exhausted fighters as the teen began bragging.

"Ha! Now," she panted, "You've gotta talk t'General Hammond 'bout letting me come on a mission."

"Sure, Squirt," the colonel wheezed. "As soon as I can stand…"

* * *

><p>He was nervous. Very, very nervous. He'd never done a drop-off before. Never even had any contact with any other agents other than over the phone or some other impersonal means of communication. This was <em>way <em>deeper than he usually got.

Sweat coated his palms and he rubbed them against his pant leg, the file securely tucked under the opposite arm.

Several passers-by gave him odd looks, wondering what the weirdo with the folder was doing in the park at this hour, sweating bullets despite the evening chill.

He checked his watch for the eighty-seventh time, looking around for any sign of his contact.

"Don't turn around."

He practically jumped off the bench. The person behind him sighed.

"Do you have the file?"

"Y-yes." He held it up, staring forward as ordered.

"Good. You will not turn around, you will not stand up."

Soft footsteps approached and the papers were pried from his grasp.

"Does anyone know you copied these?"

He gulped. "I-I couldn't copy them on base. That's the original."

The person behind him cursed. "What were you thinking? How long do we have until this is missed?"

"Sh- the target had a follow-up appointment this morning with the base doctor, so it should be at least a few days before anyone goes looking for it."

A pause. "You're not as dumb as you look, are you?" A soft rustling, they were turning. "Meet me back here tomorrow, same time. It'll be returned then."

"Understood."

More footsteps, these growing fainter until he was alone once more in the twilight gloom.

* * *

><p>That night when Victoria went to bed, she was incredibly tired, very very sore, and rather hopeful. She knew Jack didn't like kids and military mixing - every time she asked she was stonewalled, her only clue being the blinding pain he projected and a person named Charlie – but the teen really thought that her demonstration in the gym worked to bump her up the maturity ladder at least a little.<p>

This last though made her grin, the (many) times where she showed more maturity than the colonel coming to mind. After all, _she_ hadn't thought to fill their Friday water bombs with anything but, well, water. The Jell-O had been his idea (though she actively embraced it there after). The teen frowned slightly, thinking to the large red-crusted splotch that she knew would never come out, courtesy of O'Neill.

On a more serious note, though, she was quite glad to at least get the opportunity to go off-base; she hadn't left the SGC since her adventure with Sam and Maybourne for any significant length of time. Heck, she probably hadn't gone above the 11th level in weeks, the only trip she could remember being to get clothes from storage on 6.

Whatever the case, cabin fever was taking a steady hold and Victoria was looking more and more fondly on the idea of hitching a ride out as a flea, if only to see something other than concrete surrounding her.

She turned on her side, glancing at the bottom drawer of her chest; even with her family, she hadn't been allowed out, really, always having been restricted to the island at least, save her occasional trips to Gotham.

Her new home had allowed her much more freedom, but after three months she had grown too large for her self-set boundaries and she was determined to see them expand.

The teen returned to her back, gazing at the star-studded ceiling, confident that, within the next few days that she would be seeing some real stars on another world.

And if not, there was always the flee plan.

**Coming next week:**

**Chapter 4: Nightmares**

**In which people are found who don't want to be, spells are very nearly cast and there is an immense quantity of blue paint.**


	4. Chapter 4: Nightmares

**Hello there. Chap 4, all ready for ye.**

**Thanks to all of you for your reviews; chapter 3 got almost as many by itself as the first two chapters combined. Specifically, thanks for the review **_Malix2_**. After reading the long and rather irritated rant on your page I'm glad I measure up to your standards. Next hurdle: getting on your favoutites list. **_Drag0nf1y_**, thanks for the PM, and I'm glad you liked everything. To all my standby reliable reviewers, I love ya.**

**Now, as I lie here writing, TWO of you put this on alerts without a review. **_Aiyobi Uzamaki_**, **_tammin_**, I'm really glad you care enough to want to know what comes next, but would it kill you to leave a review? A PM? A sticky-note on the end of the page? Enough whining for now, though.**

**Just realized I had a monopoly on SG-1/TT fanfics (for a while there was another one, but it's disappeared). It's a bit weird knowing you've written 100 per-cent of the stories in a given area… **

**And, because chap 3 was so late in the day, I'm posting this as soon as it's Monday (clock says 00:01).  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4 Nightmares<br>In which people are found who don't want to be, spells are nearly cast and there is an immense quantity of blue paint.**

Something was wrong. Victoria couldn't tell what, but _something_ didn't bode well. She was floating in some vast expanse, limbless, bodiless. Only a consciousness in the void.

There was darkness, one that went far beyond what Bruce had made her used to and leaned towards the sinister voids of space. There was cold, a cold that Kelvin himself hadn't conceived. And there was pain, ripping, cleaving through her like dull blades wielded by poorly trained apes. A line of fire burned up her middle and she could feel each fiber stretching to its limit before failing catastrophically and tearing away from their neighbor.

The pain, the cold, the darkness grew, filling her senses and invading her very being until she was drowning in them, unable to move to think to breathe as she was dragged further into the depths of the abyss.

* * *

><p>Daniel was on his way to bed, once again remaining on base until the wee hours, when he heard Victoria scream. Quickly turning, he rushed down the hall back to the teen's room, knocking frantically.<p>

"Victoria, are you alright?"

She didn't answer, the only response being violent movement within.

He opened the door, searching the room for any intruders only to find the green girl thrashing in bed, deep in the throes of a nightmare.

The scientist closed the door behind him, going to her side and grabbing her shoulders.

"Victoria, Victoria wake up!" he called, trying to reach her. He got no response, and tried again. "Victoria, wake up. It's only a nightmare!"

The teen remained asleep and objects began to rise around the room; pencils lifting from their cup, books loosening on the shelves, the desk chair skidding across the floor of its own accord.

Daniel glanced fearfully around, it becoming very evident that this was no normal nightmare.

"Victoria, you have to wake up now!" His voice shook.

Her eyes snapped open but she did not wake, her normally violet eyes glowing black.

"_**Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Carazon Rakashas Endere**_" The voice, far deeper then V's normal tones, echoed eerily around the room, filling it impossibly as the chanting continued. A faintly glowing blue ring appeared around them, encircling the teen and extending towards the ceiling. "..._**Vaserix Endrien**_-"

The linguist stared for several moments, shocked beyond words, before renewing his attempts to wake her.

"Victoria!"

She snapped out of the trance, glow fading and objects falling as she heaved in air, sweat drenching her skin.

"D-Daniel?" The teen grasped his arms, holding onto them like lifelines as her wide eyes jerked around the room.

"It's okay, V," he responded soothingly, rubbing his thumbs over her shoulders. "You were having a nightmare, but it's over now."

She looked at him for a second or two before launching herself into him, taking him completely off guard as she buried her face in his chest. The archeologist remained motionless for a moment but eventually wrapped his arms around her, wincing when he felt the front of his shirt dampen.

"You want to tell me about it?" he asked, rubbing circles over her back because he couldn't really think of anything else to do.

The purple head below him shook a negative and he continued to hold her until her sobs ceased.

"I-I'm sorry for collapsing all over you like this…" she eventually said, moving back and extracting herself from his embrace, wiping her red orbs.

He offered an understanding smile. "It's fine, really. I was just worried. I'm not very good at this sort of thing…"

The teen snorted. "You're doing a pretty good job so far." She offered a watery grin and he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want me to get you anything?"

Victoria shook her head, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Daniel smirked and got a tissue from her bedside table, handing it to her.

She muttered a thanks and blew, quickly using it up and tossing it in the basket.

They sat in silence for several moments, atmosphere rapidly approaching awkward when Daniel decided to break it.

"What were those words you were saying?"

The changeling gave his a quizzical look. "What words?"

"Before, just before you woke up, your eyes opened and you starting speaking," the linguist replied. "They were strange, almost like Latin; Azarath Metrion… something, I couldn't quite make it out."

Victoria paled slightly, the light bulb in the bedside lamp bursting.

"Crap, I'm sorry. Residual energy," she explained, not missing but ignoring the skeptical look he shot her. "I don't know what the words mean, didn't even know I was saying them."

Daniel gave her a hard look for a moment, but let it drop; it was obvious she knew them, but he wouldn't push right now.

"Okay. Well, if you're feeling better now, I'll head off…" He stood.

The teen really really _really_ would have liked him to stay, but she swallowed her pleas, awkwardly tucking an errant strand of hair behind an ear.

"Yeah, I don't want to keep you up…"

The archeologist gave her another long once-over before heading to the door.

"If you need anything, V, I'm right next door."

She smiled at the offer. "Thanks, Daniel. I'll be sure to take you up on that."

He gave one last smile and was gone, leaving Victoria alone in the darkness to silently ponder the words that were not her own.

* * *

><p>It turns out that meditation, no matter what certain large, dark-skinned Jaffa said, could, in fact, make you more irritated than when you went it. Living proof of that was currently stomping down the halls of the SGC, purple hair sticking in several directions and a scowl plastered on her usually bright face. People gave her a wide berth.<p>

Victoria had spent the remainder of her night in deep meditation, trying to figure out just what had happened and gleaning Daniel's memories of the event for reference. She had gotten no more sleep and been unable to find much of anything in terms of solid evidence, really.

But she had ideas. And metaphysical evidence.

Hence the growling.

There were only about five people that she knew of who were able to use the words 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos' to get any sort of reaction, including herself. Of them, one was dead, one couldn't use them like Daniel had seen, and two were in a different reality. Actually all of the other four were in a different reality, relative to the teen at that moment, which meant that no-one but her should have been able to induce the nightmare and the furniture-moving-thing.

Of course, she couldn't do it in her sleep and after Daniel had left she had found traces of residual magic on every conceivable surface.

And in her mind.

She turned a corner, yanking open a supply closet she knew would be empty and abandoned and storming in, slamming the door behind her and sliding down it.

Her mother's magic had left its tracks all over her room, marking every object that had moved during the event. The trail even reached into Victoria's mind, prying apart all but her strongest shields and going through all but her most cherished memories.

Most of her memories of the past three months lay behind the rampart, but everything else had been dredged up, as it to assure whomever it was that they indeed had the correct person. It was the words Daniel had heard that made her worry the most, however.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Carazon Rakashas Endere...Vaserix Endrien Azarath...Azarath…" she murmured, very, _very_ careful not to put any juice into them and not finishing the spell.

It was a transportation spell, an old one, which was powerful enough to transcend the boundaries of dimensions and Victoria had seen her mother use it many times. She was always careful to hide the fact, however; had Raven known, there was no telling what she would have done.

The spell itself was only for long distances and, in the Tower, at least, was primarily used to visit the ashes of Azarath, a mystical realm that existed outside of the teen's original dimension. It required precise amounts of some very hard-to-find magical substances, though, which were useless after the spell was attempted, which meant her mother could only cast it very rarely. The fact that she had obviously gone all out, however, meant that the teen wouldn't have to worry about another attempt any time soon.

She closed her eyes, tired and hurting; Raven had found her, finally, and had tried to puppet her body back to Jump City by use of the spell.

The teen thanked her lucky stars that Daniel had shaken her out of it in time.

Literally.

The hours of meditation had served their purpose, to an extent; her shields were twice as strong, now, stretching to encompass her entire existence and, essentially, hiding it from anyone who bothered to look. Of course, in the reality she now called home, there was no-one to find her like that.

But if her mother tried again to find her, then she would get nothing. It would be like Victoria never existed.

So long as the shields were up.

When she was asleep, however, they could drop back to half power.

Looking around, the teen spied a paint can and grabbed it, tearing off to her room.

* * *

><p>It was around 1210 that Daniel went to look for Victoria, still somewhat worried about her from the previous night's events. Despite her protests, the linguist knew enough about the changeling to be pretty sure when she was lying and was worried about her.<p>

He found the elusive teen in her room, hands covered in blue paint and symbols covering the walls as she added a touch to one above her desk.

"Redecorating?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

Victoria whipped about and fell off the desk. "…Ow."

"Are you alright?" He walked around the bed and helped her up.

"Yeah, fine…" The teen rubbed her head with the still-green hand, her right dripping slightly.

"What's with the, uh…" Daniel gestured, "Paint job."

"Oh, these are wards," she replied, swiping a towel and wiping the paint off her hand.

"I don't recognize them." The linguist moved closer, curiosity peaked.

"They're an ancient form of magic from my universe. So far as I know, there are only three other practitioners." Victoria replaced the lid on the can, sealing it with a pop.

"Oh, did your mother teach you?"

"No." A sliver of ice found its way into the word. "I learned it from one of the senior members of the League last time I was in Gotham."

Caution: thin ice. Tread carefully.

"Ah. Well, I came to get you for lunch," he back-pedalled. "And to remind you that you have an appointment with Janet in an hour."

The hostility vanished abruptly. "Oh, thank you. I…I'll meet you in the commissary in a few minutes. I just want to…" She looked at the cerulean mess around them. "Clean up a bit…"

"Yeah. Sure." Daniel smiled and backed toward the door. "See you in…five?"

The teen glanced at the paint and brushes. "Make it ten."

"Ten, yeah, sure." He opened it and slid out. "See you."

The knob clicked softly, echoing eerily in the suddenly empty room, and Victoria was left feeling more alone than she had since the night so long ago, when she had sat atop the mountain and watched the stars with her now-boss.

**Coming next week:**

**Chapter 5 Doctors and Doctors and Doctors, oh my!**

**In which many things happen at once, Sam finally comes into the story and some startling facts are hinted at.**

PS. The spell in there is cannon, not original.  
>Reference – Teen Titans Episode 4:07 "The Prophesy"<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Dr's and Dr's and Dr's Oh My

**It's been an exciting week, here on the East Coast; first we had the earthquake on Tuesday, now Irene is bearing down on us. Because of this, I really don't know if I'll be able to post on Monday, so I'm doing it now, 23 hours early so you guys can enjoy it. If (big if) there's still power and internet tomorrow, I will still be posting a chapter, so you guys will be getting two at a pop. As it is right now, I'm borrowing my neighbours' WiFi, so it's debatable.**

**To all you usual lovelies, thank you for your reviews. And to **_Saffygirl_**, why don't you ever answer me O.o?**

**This chapter is a bit longer than the others, just 'cause it ran away with itself.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<br>In which many things happen at once, Sam finally comes into the story and some startling facts are hinted at.**

It was nearly twenty minutes later that Victoria finally arrived in the dining hall, looking somewhat lost and sporting several blue smudges on her brow and nose.

Daniel waved and she relaxed, swiping a sandwich and plopping down across from him.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," the teen panted, ripping open the cellophane and tearing into the food. "That paint was harder to get off than I thought."

At least, that's what it sounded like, her words muffled by the bread and tuna.

"It's fine, V," the archeologist chuckled, sipping his water as he waited for her to swallow. He let the silence linger, biting the inside of his lip as he debated voicing the question rolling about in his brain watching as his companion scarffed her food. Finally, the curiosity could be quelled no longer.

"Can I ask you a question?"

The changeling looked up, smiled and laid her sandwich down. "Sure. What'd you want to know?"

"The…wards, that you were painting…" The girl's smile slid off her face. "Do they have anything to do with what happened last night?"

Victoria stared for several long moments, an internal battle raging; on one hand, if she told the whole and complete truth, i.e. that she was trying to keep her mother out of her head, it would lead to many more uncomfortable questions.

On the other, none of her little white lies had come back to bite her yet.

"Yeah, they do…" She slouched thinking quickly. "I haven't had a lot of time to meditate recently, so my magic kind of…built up. Like bubbles in a soda."

Daniel nodded his understanding. "And the symbols?"

"They act like a buffer. If my magic builds up and bursts out again, they'll absorb the lion's share of it." There were wards that absorbed magic; she did know them, so not a total lie.

"So last night was…a burp?" he asked, a grin splitting his face.

The teen laughed, prompting him to join. "If you want to think of it like that, yeah. A magic burp."

They sat laughing, enjoying the other's company until a tall thin shadow fell over the table, a chill accompanying it.

"Dr. Jackson!" Dr. Davis exclaimed in faux surprise.

"Oh, good morning Natalie," the linguist replied, catching his breath and taking another drink.

"Or good afternoon," Victoria chimed in, trying very hard not to relish the look of annoyance on the blonde's face.

She offered the girl a crooked smile that looked akin to indigestion before pointedly ignoring her and turning back to the doctor. "I didn't expect you to be here on a Saturday."

"Heh, hard to think of a time when I'm not here…" he muttered good naturedly; the teen giggled.

Davis shot her another disapproving look, willing her to be somewhere else. "I was wondering if you would review some of the glyphs from SG-8's last mission with me; the syntax is unlike anything I've ever seen."

He opened his mouth to protest, catching Victoria's eye apologetically, when she cut him off.

"I have to get going anyway, Daniel."

The brunet raised a brow in concern. "You sure, Victoria?"

She forced a smile. "Yeah, I have an appointment with Janet in fifteen minutes, remember?"

He remained unconvinced, watching her closely as she stood.

"I'll be fine, Daniel." The teen pecked him on the cheek and beat a hasty retreat, trying to ignore the furious blonde and the rapid flushing of her own cheeks as she went. "See you later for movie night!"

She didn't see the confused, slightly pink look on Daniel's face, either.

* * *

><p>When Dr. Frasier walked into the examination room, she honestly didn't expect her patient to be there already, sitting atop the table in all her green glory. The brunette stopped, approaching slowly and prodding the zoned-out teen in the leg with her pen.<p>

Victoria jumped and turned to her, violet eyes snapping to focus.

"Well this is certainly a surprise," the doctor said, fighting back a smile. The teen looked puzzled. "You're on time."

An expression of understanding passed over the girl's face and she chuckled.

"Heh, shocking, I know." She turned away, rubbing her neck without continuing and a sliver of worry wormed into Janet at the downcast expression.

"Are you alright, Victoria?"

"Wha…? Yeah! Totally! Just…" She yawned loudly. "Peachy…"

The doctor leveled a concerned look at her before deciding to tackle the obvious issue first; the clipboard went down.

"Late night last night?"

The teen laughed dryly. "You could say that…" She trailed off and Janet waited patiently for her to continue. Seeing that she wasn't going to drop it, Victoria continued. "I had a nightmare, kindof. It wasn't so much a nightmare as…"

She face screwed up, hands gesturing in an attempt to find the right words; 'possession' wasn't one of them.

"Homesickness, perhaps?" the doctor offered.

"Pfft, no," the changeling dismissed, not seeing the spark of surprise in Janet's face at her quick dismissal of the option. "It was like a magic overload, I guess the best way to describe it. Whatever the term, Daniel woke me up just after midnight 'cause he heard me screaming and I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards."

The mention of screaming caused the brunette some alarm. "Did it cause any physical harm?"

"Not to me, but I have a few pencils that will never be the same," Victoria joked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from its current course; she'd lied enough for one day.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm seeing you today in any case," Janet said. "I trust you when it comes to your powers, but until further notice I'm still in charge of your well being. Now, if you'll excuse me for a moment;" She gathered her clipboard. "I have to go get your file."

The teen raised a brow jokingly. "Getting forgetful, Doc?"

Janet just smiled in response. "No; I didn't expect you to be on time." She laughed as a raspberry followed her out.

* * *

><p>He looked around nervously, stomach twisting in so many knots; his contact had apparently finished with the girl's file before the appointed time and he had found it waiting for him when he woke up, slid under the door of his apartment.<p>

The fact that they knew where he lived was disconcerting but not all together surprising.

In any case, he had to return the papers before anyone noticed they were gone, hence the unusual occurrence of him showing up on base on Saturday. He nodded at the guards on the way down, offering some excuse about leaving something in his locker.

Stomach in knots, he descended to Level 21, folder securely tucked in his waist band under his jacket. Checking his surroundings, he slipped into the infirmary, intent on returning the file to the records room.

Movement within stopped him cold.

The sharp click of high heels sounded and he pressed himself against the wall as the base's CMO strode out.

"Patricia, did you take Victoria's file?" Dr. Frasier asked, addressing another doctor down the hall.

The bottom dropped out of his stomach; they were looking for the girl's records. The very ones that were stuffed in the back of his belt. It would be impossible for him to replace the file now.

"No, did you check the records room?" The diminutive doctor clicked away, towards the other voice and he slipped around the corner.

He swallowed, the motion sounding impossibly loud to his own ears, and he moved quickly down the hall towards Frasier's office. The folder slipped from his hand, neatly placed on her desk before he bolted, carefully avoiding any human contact until he was safely on Level 25, staring his locker down.

* * *

><p>Janet puzzled as she checked the records' room; she was <em>sure<em> that she had put Victoria's file in its proper place after the teen had missed her appointment the day before.

"Patricia, did you take Victoria's file?" she called to her 2IC, exiting.

"No, did you check the records room?" Dr. Turner replied, popping her head out of her office as Janet approached.

"I just did; it wasn't there."

The redhead pursed her lips for a moment, thinking. "Maybe you put it on your desk."

"Could have. I'll check there, thanks."

She did, and the file in question was just where Patricia had suggested, sitting atop the other papers on her desk.

* * *

><p>"<em>Indy<em>!"

"_Parenthood_!"

"_Indy_!"

"_Parenthood_!"

Daniel, Sam and Teal'c watched with some amusement as the two children of their group fought out their usual Saturday Night Movie Battle Royal. The fact that one of the children was older than everyone present (except Teal'c…) didn't really impact the humour of the situation.

If anything, it enhanced it.

Settling in for the long haul, they each grabbed their respective snacks and watched the pre-show entertainment.

"I'm the CO of this team, and I say we're watching _Parenthood_," O'Neill declared, fully expecting to win with that argument.

"You said we wouldn't watch anymore Mary Steenburgen movies, Jack," Victoria pouted, punctuating the sentence with a raspberry.

The colonel looked to his team for support, only to see them in varying states of laughter, mostly silent and totally unwilling to help. "Who says she's in this?"

The teen raised a brow and swiped the VHS. "Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen star in…" she read and shot him a look. "She's like, the second billed in it!"

He muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "d'oh," and glanced at the warm-hued box in the girl's hand.

"You'll like it Jack. It's got Nazis, and bullwhips and Harrison Ford," Victoria enticed, wiggling the _Indiana Jones_ box.

"Harrison Ford's in this?" he asked, raising a brow.

"You've never seen _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, sir?" Sam broke in, surprised.

The teen jerked a thumb at him. "He's never seen _Star Wars_, either."

"Neither have you!" Jack shot back indignantly.

"Actually, Jack…" Daniel started, fighting a huge grin. The colonel shot him a look akin to betrayal.

"When did that happen?"

"The week before the foothold incident," the changeling replied smugly. "Teal'c wanted someone to watch it with and Daniel needed a break."

Jack's mouth opened slightly and he turned to the Jaffa. "You've seen _Star Wars_?"

"Indeed I have, O'Neill. Four times."

Seeing that he really probably wasn't going to win, he sent the teen one last scrutinizing gaze. "Why do you want to see it so much?"

Victoria offered a wide smile. "I have a thing for sexy, kick-ass archeologists."

Daniel choked on his pretzels and Sam burst out laughing, nearly spilling her Diet Coke while the teen registered her words in relation to her audience. She promptly flushed a dark hunter.

"Just for that," Jack chuckled, watching as Carter slapped their resident archeologist on the back. "We'll watch your movie, Squirt."

Embarrassment and triumph fought for dominance on Victoria's face and she eventually settled on pumping one fist whilst awkwardly scratching the back of her head with the other.

The colonel took the tape, popping it in as the rest of the team settled on the couch and armchair.

Sam and Daniel occupied the love seat, the space between them soon filled with a large amethyst cat studded with green spots that turned several times. It eventually settled on the blonde, rubbing the linguist in apology first before curling up in the woman's lap.

Teal'c had claimed the recliner, the Jaffa smiling as it began to shake lightly; he liked the massage feature.

Seeing his remaining choices, O'Neill gestured to Carter before squishing onto the couch between her and the arm. The cat gave them both resentful looks and shifted her affections, and her seat, to Daniel, purring as he scratched behind her ears.

"You're gonna spoil her, Daniel," Jack murmured, resting an arm on the sofa's back to make room, not really minding that it allowed a certain Major to edge closer to him.

_Leave me alone, you._

He chuckled and a tendril of dark energy flicked the lights off as the film began.

* * *

><p>"Status report."<p>

"The file is back with the base's records."

"Good. Any issues?"

"…No."

"Excellent. We'll have Rodriguez and Isaacs look it over, see if they can't get anything useful. Continue monitoring her; we'll contact you with more instructions as necessary."

"Understood. Over and out."

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week: <strong>

**Chapter 6 Sweat: Blood and Jell-O**

**In which there is haranguing and sweating.**


	6. Chapter 6: Sweat, Blood and JellO

**Soooo, yeah, little nervous about this chapter, mainly because this is where the real plot-ish stuff starts to happen (That and starting at a new college… three humanities first semester and I'm two and a half hours from home for the first time.) After this, I can't make any changes and am committed to this plot. Which I keep hitting metal snags on because I'm waaaay too OCD about details. And now I'll have to juggle it with an Ivy League-level school. **

**But for the story, you can rest a little easy because, by my calculations, I have at least through October written. And that suddenly seems like very little. Shit, this is turning into a rant so I'm just gonna cut it off here and say to the 2 of you who bothered to read that, thanks, you're what my therapist ordered and to the rest of you, enjoy the chap. **

**Just a warning, this contains some of cheesiest writing I have ever done, just warning you, and to give you an idea of just how long I've been prepping for this, the first part of this chapter was written nearly a year ago. Yeah. **

**Thanks to my Four Faithfuls, you know who you are, and I hope I can keep you through this whole thing.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6 Sweat, Blood and Jell-O<strong>  
><strong>In which there is haranguing and sweating.<strong>

"Pleaaaaaaase Jack?" Victoria whined, enlarging her eyes to an almost comical level.

The colonel whirled around to face her, his hands in the air, as he cried, "No! You can't come on a mission!"

The two had been going at it for about a week, starting two days after the teen's victory over him in the training ring. Jack had appealed to General Hammond, who had left the decision to his 2IC, trusting both parties enough to be alright with either outcome and not particularly wanting to get involved in the argument. The rest of the base, being neither deaf nor blind, had been sure to avoid the two.

The green girl pouted, crossing her arms. "Why not?"

O'Neill, sighed, muttering a tired _oi vey_ before replying. "You're a sixteen year old kid from an alternate dimension and this is a military base."

She looked at him blankly. "So?"

They turned a corner, not noticing the geek half of SG-1 watching them amusedly as they exited the elevator.

"Has either of them made any headway?" Daniel asked, heading for his office.

"None whatsoever," Sam replied with a smile. "Ferreti's started a pool, though."

"Oh god," the archeologist groaned, chuckling as they parted.

"Sooo, we go on military operations that often involve people getting shot and we can't put you in that kind of danger," Jack countered, blood pressure rising.

Victoria scowled at him. "I have been shot before, and not just in paintball, Jack." He had the decency to wince; SG-1's most recent trip to the paintball fields had been interesting and had served to show that, despite her age, the sorceress was a damn good shot; he hadn't been able to sit for the past week without wincing.

"Zat's don't count, Squirt," he snapped in retaliation.

Victoria held up a hand, counting off reasons. "I'm a good shot, I can run, I'm a pretty good linguist, I know seven forms of martial arts, I can heal AND I can provide instant cover if needed."

The colonel slapped his forehead, running is hand heavily over his face. Damn. The girl had a point. Several, in fact.

"Come on, Jack. I'm sick of being stuck on base." Most of the joking left her voice at this. "The only place that I can actually go is the paintball fields, and that's only because I wear a full tinted helmet."

The colonel felt his resolve crumbling, especially at the heartbroken looks the teenager was giving him.

"It can just be a recon mission! Or an excavation! Anything!"

Knowing that, on some level, he was going to regret this, Jack sighed before reluctantly giving in.

"Alright…" he grumbled, trying to ignore the ecstatic yells of the teenager. "But you do EXACTLY what I say, starting with a week of my own basic training, got it?"

She nodded enthusiastically before coping a salute, grunting, "Sir, yes sir, Colonel O'Neill, sir."

He rolled his eyes, idly wondering what he had gotten himself into as he trapped the teen in a headlock, giving her a noogie as she struggled in his embrace.

"Ahh! Jaaack! Lemmie go!" she shrieked with laughter, trying to twist out of the colonel's embrace.

Twenty minutes later found Ferreti laughing hysterically and collecting money, distributing it amongst the winners.

* * *

><p>Daniel peered over his glasses at the most recent artifact on his desk, a large but strangely light stone tablet the boasted a new metal alloy. Either that or it was advertising the local, ehem, scarlet lady.<p>

A sharp knock sounded and he was shaken from his studies, sliding his spectacles up to their proper place

"Come in."

The tall, slender form of Dr. Davis appeared, a large sheaf of papers in her arms.

"I have those Farsi translations you asked for, Dr. Jackson," she said, looking around for a clean horizontal surface to place them.

"Oh, thank you. Just put them…" Daniel stood, compiling several piles to make room.

His elbow hit a statuette and in plummeted to the floor, stopping centimeters from destruction as black energy engulfed it.

"Need an extra hand?" Victoria asked from the doorway, a similar aura surrounding her hand as she lifted the figure, placing it gently on a nearby shelf.

"Heh, thanks V," Daniel said, offering a smile as his co-worker glared heatedly.

Davis put the files down with a little more force than strictly necessary, sending a stone tablet over the edge. The teen caught this, too, and gingerly returned it to its place on the table.

"I just came down to tell you that I may not be able to finish those Romanian translations this week—" Natalie sniffed subtly and the brunet shot her a look. "—Jack's finally agreed to let me go on your next mission if I pass the standard physical fitness tests and do a couple of days medical training with Janet."

"Oh, that's great, Victoria," the archeologist replied.

"Do you want me to keep them for now, seeing as you seem to be a bit over stocked?" the teen asked, eyeing the general over crowdedness of his office.

Dr. Davis glared at her, irked at being ignored, and gruffly excused herself, her jaw clenched against the words in her throat as she strode past the girl in the door.

* * *

><p>"First order of business," Jack said, pacing in front of his self-appointed charge and 2IC. "The physical fitness evaluation. It's comprised of four tests; pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups and a mile and a half run. For women, the minimum numbers are no pull-ups, 18 push-ups per minute, 38 sit-ups per minute and a 14:26 mile. Carter's agreed to record your results and to be your trainer in the event you fail any of these the first time around."<p>

Victoria offered a cocky smirk. "I don't plan to."

Jack returned it. "I figured you'd say that. What should we start with, Carter?"

The major checked her clipboard (on loan from Janet). "I'd start with the push-ups, sir."

"Just out of curiosity," Victoria said, kneeling on the blue vinyl mats, "are there any other levels besides scraping past for this?"

"Um…" Sam checked the list. "Yeah, there are."

"Cool. Don't tell me."

The testing began.

An hour later, Victoria had passed all the evaluations at with flying colours and stood before her friends, sweaty but triumphant.

"Good job, Squirt," Jack said, catching her in a half-hug/noogie.

Once released, Sam offered a bottle of water and a real hug, not minding the general sweatiness of it.

"Now, go shower and rest up. Tomorrow Dr. Frasier is starting your field medicine training and she gets irritated when people fall asleep in the middle of it."

The teen laughed, careful not to choke as she drank and turned to leave. Without warning, she turned, throwing her arms around the colonel's middle.

"Thank you, Jack," she murmured against his chest before releasing him and beginning to exit.

"For what?" he asked, a bit confused.

Victoria turned, amethyst eyes a touch brighter than usual. "For giving me a chance."

She was gone before either he or Carter could respond.

The colonel exchanged a puzzled look with his 2IC and she only offered a shrug, just as enlightened as he was in this.

"I'll go see if she's alright, sir," Sam said. Jack nodded.

"Good idea. I gotta go talk to Hammond about getting a boring mission."

Sam raised a brow. "Not even going to wait until after Janet's lessons?"

The colonel shook his head. "She'd a smart kid; she'll take anything Ol' Doc Frasier can throw at her."

The major chuckled and followed the teen's path as Jack left for the general's office.

* * *

><p>"I see she finally convinced you, Colonel," General Hammond said with a smile after Jack finished.<p>

"…Yeah, she did, sir." He really hoped his embarrassment at catering to a teenager didn't show.

"Well, I have a request from Dr. Lass on SG-8 here for Dr. Jackson's expertise." He brought a folder to the top of the pile. "Just over a month ago, SG-5 discovered an extensive complex of ruins on P3X-484 and took pictures. Between the foothold incident and the Triad, we haven't had the chance send anyone back."

"Well, sir, I know a couple of language nerds who would simply jump at the chance," Jack replied. "Any sign of hostiles?"

The general shook his head. "No, there were no signs of any humanoid life in the Stargate's vicinity whatsoever."

"Not even the people who built it," Jack finished, seeing his point.

"Exactly, which is why this will be a standard, three-team establishing mission. According to Major Taylor the buildings looked like they were abandoned several hundred years ago, but it doesn't hurt to be careful."

"Who's the third team, sir?"

"I was going to let you pick, since you'll be in charge."

The colonel nodded, thinking. "I'll take Makepeace's team; his marines always like the relaxing missions."

"Very well," Hammond replied. "Your briefing will be at 0900 a week from today. In the mean time I would like your report on your mission to Tollana."

"Almost done with it, sir… Thank you, General." He turned to leave, somewhat embarrassed.

"And Jack." The colonel stopped at the door. "Just how well did Victoria do?"

"Thunderbolt or better on everything, sir."

The general's brows rose to his non-existent hairline. "Impressive. Think we could convince her to join up when she turns 18?"

Jack mulled over the thought. "Maybe, sir."

He didn't say _if she's still here_…, but it did cross his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week:<strong>

**Chapter 7 Are We There Yet?**

**In which there is cheering, bonding, hitting people on the head with coffee mugs and new experiences.**


	7. Chapter 7: Are We There Yet?

**Yo peoples, Next chapter of **_**Ties That Bind**_** here for you. Um…Not much to say on this chapter, other then I spent way too much time looking up what actual Dog Tags had on them for this. Little sad that I only got 3 reviews on this one, but beggars can't be choosers.**

**Thanks to **_**Saffygirl**_ **and **_**Jen-NCIS-lover**_** for your awesome reviews, as always and THANK YOU to **_**Sandstripe**_** for remembering; I was really starting to get worried for all of you ^_^;**

**Anain, thanks to the lovely **_**Sandstripe**_** for all the help she's been giving me; hope you like the next set and your idea is working its way into Chapter 16 as we speak…kinda.**

**And to all of you who are thinking "SG-1 can never go on a mission without SOMETHING going wrong," just you wait. *Evil Smile***

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7 Are We There Yet?<br>In which there is cheering, bonding, hitting people on the head with coffee mugs and new experiences.**

"Well, that's the last test," Dr. Frasier said, looking over her clipboard. "You are now, officially, certified."

"WHOAHOO!" a certain green teen yelled, jumping up from her place beside the training dummy. She turned a flip, coming down in a small green monkey, and proceeded to dance about as Janet chuckled.

"Easy, girl," the brunette said, laughing more when the primate leaped into her arms, wrapping its furry arms around her neck in a hug.

_**Sorry, Janet**__._ The monkey hopped down, morphing back to an absolutely beaming human. "I'm just so _hyped_."

The doctor snickered as the teen vibrated with excitement, bouncing on the balls of her feet with extraordinary speed. "I can see that. So," she finished her notes, putting her clipboard down. "Who are you going to tell first?"

At this, Victoria stopped, crossing her arms as her face screwed up in thought.

"I don't know… I'm kinda torn…"

Janet shot her a knowing glance. "Between?"

"Oh, um…" The teen blushed at her tone. "S-Sam and Jack."

"Mmm hmm…" The doctor simply smirked at her discomfort and Victoria made for the door. "Tell Daniel I said hi."

She laughed at the raspberry V blew as she sped down the hall.

* * *

><p>After finding that Daniel had actually left the base for the weekend (Dr. Rothman had said something about a seminar at the local college), the green shapeshifter decided to try and catch Jack before he escaped the premises. She found the colonel in SG-1's unofficial team room, recovering from that morning's 'Ferreti Friday' rampage with a soothing game of Formula One against his usual opponent, Teal'c.<p>

Which he was losing. Rather badly.

Grinning unsettlingly, the teen crouched, creeping up behind the couch before leaping up onto its back with an exuberant "Guess what Jack!"

The colonel shot off the sofa with a few choice words, glaring at her as she fell onto the seat laughing, her legs still hooked over the back as the Jaffa beside her raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Your stealth skill has improved, Victoria Logan." He broke into a wide smile. "I do not believe Colonel O'Neill heard you approach."

This simply brought another round of mirth, the girl beginning to turn a dark blue-ish green as she struggled to breathe.

"I – I'm sorry, Jack," she gasped out several moments later, giggling between every other word. "I honestly didn't think you would do that, hahaha!" Another bout claimed her for a few seconds.

The human waited somewhat patiently with a sour look on his face for her to finally settle down.

"Okay, now that you've scared the crap outta me, what do you want, Victoria?"

All the teen's humour evaporated and she righted herself on the couch, looking downright ashamed.

"I'm sorry, Jack. If I had known it would upset you so much, I wouldn't have scared you like that."

Dear god, there were kicked puppies that looked cheerier than the changeling and to top it off, Teal'c was raising a brow at him, doing _that face_©. The one that clearly showed his displeasure to any fool unwise enough to upset him. Without a word, the Jaffa stood and left him to deal.

Jack rubbed the back of his head as guilt sucker-punched him in the solar plexus.

"I, uh… I didn't mean to snap, Squirt, I'm sorry. What did you want to tell me?"

"I passed Janet's CPR and basic field medicine course…" the teen murmured, still looking downcast.

"Ah, I guess it's a good thing that I talked to General Hammond on Monday."

Victoria's head snapped up to face him, eyes wide. "You what?"

"Asked General Hammond for a good mission for you to come on on Monday," he repeated slowly, biting back a smile at her flabbergasted face.

"But–but–but I hadn't even started with Janet then, why did you –" He cut her off.

"You're a smart kid, Squirt. Like, Daniel smart." She blushed at that. "I knew you would pass Doc Frasier's class."

Tears welled in her eyes and for a few horrifying second Jack sincerely thought he had upset the girl until he found himself nearly toppling backwards, the green girl having launched herself at his in a rib-cracking hug.

"Thank you…" she said into his chest, her voice muffled by his shirt. His arms closed around her automatically and he rubbed soothing circles into her back.

"Don't sweat it, Squirt… I have faith in you…"

They stood like that for several minutes more until Victoria was sure she wouldn't cry and withdrew from the colonel's embrace.

"I, uh… I've got something for you…" Jack said awkwardly, unsure how to transition from that. Settling on his usual bluntness, he went to the games cupboard and took out a small package. He tossed it to the teen, watching her reaction carefully.

Her purple eyes doubled in size. "M-my own dog tags?"

"Standard equipment for all off-world personnel," he explained. "Generally they give em' to new recruits when they graduate Basic Training, but I figured I could give em' to you now."

She ran her fingers over the raised letters, tracing them.

LOGAN, VICTORIA A  
>123-456-7890 AF<br>O RH NEG  
>PROJ BLU B SG 1<br>NO RELIGIOUS PREF

"What do all the extra lines mean?" the changeling asked curiously.

Jack smiled and walked over to her, pointing at each line as he explained.

* * *

><p>At exactly 0815 on Monday morning, Victoria was sitting –still shockingly enough- at the conference table, dressed in new BDUs that she had sweet-talked Daniel out of and waiting patiently for the briefing to begin. The teen had spent the weekend finishing the last of the Romanian-ish translations and going through the briefing report which had turned out to be frustratingly vague.<p>

The fact that briefing was scheduled to start at 0900 didn't really faze her much; she just took the chance to practice her telekinesis.

She had gotten six pens, two mugs and a clipboard in a relatively decent hold when her solitude was intruded upon by SG-1's resident egghead in glasses.

He was, as usual, rifling through a large sheaf of papers and muttering to himself in a foreign language that sounded vaguely like Thai when he ran into a mug. The ceramic thudded against his head and he looked up in shock, not really expecting the flatware to be floating around the conference room. His eyes lit on the teen, however, and he relaxed, moving to his usual seat across from her.

"'Morning, Victoria. Practicing?"

The items gently lowered back to the table before she responded. "Yup, trying to make my control better. Jack's finally letting me come on a mission," she beamed, violet eyes shining.

Daniel looked a bit surprised but it soon vanished. "Cool. It's a good thing, too, apparently there are ruins on this planet that resemble Sanskrit."

"Sweet! That one of the, like, three languages I know better than you!" she grinned, pumping her fits and earning a chuckle from the amused nerd.

"Are you including that alien language that your aunt taught you, or no?"

"Wha…Tamerainian?" He nodded. "Naw, you don't know Tamerainian, so I can't know it better, I can just know it and you don't."

He stared at her for a moment, mouth slightly open as the logic processed, before it kinda made sense. In a purely Victoria way.

They remained chatting until the rest of the team walked –or in Jack's case stumbled – in, resuming the teen's Goa'uld lessons and beefing up the brunet's ancient Indian.

Finally, twelve SGC personnel, and Victoria, sat around the conference table, ready for their mission as their fearless, marble-crowned leader strode in.

* * *

><p>"We have an update."<p>

"Report."

"The girl is being sent on a mission off-planet. Two of our operatives have been assigned there also."

"Very good. Tell them to get her alone or kill anyone in our way, then proceed to base."

"Understood."

"And remember what you should do in the event our junior operator fails us again."

"Understood, sir." Luscious lips curved into a disconcerting smile as she sauntered away from her hiding place, the communications device already out of sight.

* * *

><p>Victoria stood looking in awe at the shimmering pool of…wormhole. Sam had tried to explain what it looked like, but she had lapsed into her dialect of tech-talk and the teen was left glassy-eyed within minutes. Now, looking at the massive ring and the glowing not-really-liquid within, she found herself breathless and more than a little intimidated.<p>

Daniel saw this and wove through the crowd of soldiers and geeks, ending up at her side.

"You ok?" he asked quietly in her ear, not wanting to startle her. He didn't notice her blush darkly at his proximity.

"Yeah, it's just…big." She waved her arms, unable to find a better adjective. "I mean, I know I've gone through before and everything, but I was unconscious. I don't know what it's like."

The archeologist nodded his understanding, moving to stand beside her. "Well, you know what they always say."

She looked at him quizzically and he shot her a grin.

"First one's the hardest." He held out an arm, offering it to her and she took it after a moment's hesitation.

"We're off to see the wizard," she said, voice shaking slightly.

"The wonderful wizard of Oz," Daniel agreed, and they walked up the ramp, arm-in-arm as they went through the Stargate.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week:<strong>

**Chapter 8 Eat Your Heart Out, Indiana Jones**

**In which there are flashbacks, reminders, introductions, geeks geeking and bad things happening around water.**


	8. Chapter 8: Eat Your Heart Out, Indy

**Hey, yo. Chapter 8, here, now. Sorry for it being a day late, but life got in the way; I'll post 9 a day early to make up for it.  
><strong>

**Uh, let's see… Thanks to **_**Sandstripe**_**, **_**Jen-NCIS-Lover**_** and **_**GallifreyanGhostGirl**_** (ha! I lured you back!) for your lovely reviews; Yes, Jack's adorable around kids and of course V knows Tamarainian, she's related to Star (kinda)! And I hope that this chap is interesting, **_**Jen**_**, I certainly try to make it that way ^_^.**

_**Saffygirl**_**, where have you gone? Are the evils of the American educational system rearing their ugly heads (they are at me X.x.) **

_**Jonakhensu**_**; glad you like INEBG (at least I assume you do, you wrote two reviews for it) and congratulations on being the **_100__th__ reviewer_**! (Of that, not this.)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 Eat Your Heart Out, Indiana Jones<br>In which there are flashbacks, reminders, introductions, geeks geeking and bad things happening around water.**

The feeling of going through the 'Gate was pretty similar to going through floors, Victoria decided as she landed on P3X-48whatever. Her knees were a bit weak, head slightly spinning. She stumbled, remaining standing only because of Daniel's arm wound with hers. He helped her out of the way as more people came through and soon the entire group was standing about as the 'Gate closed with a faint _woosh_. The teen took the time to look around at the green leafy landscape, kind of surprised at how much like Earth it was, but quickly brushed it off as Daniel's explanations from before came to mind.

"Alright, campers," Jack said, heading to the fore. "We are here to set up a more permanent excavation site of the ruins found by SG-5. Daniel, you and V go with SG-8 to the ruins and do your—" he made a vague gesture. "Thing. SG-3, you're with Carter, Teal'c and me. Perimeter sweep and establishment. SG-5 said they didn't encounter anybody, but that doesn't mean they're not there. Radio contact every two hours. Move out, people."

Victoria watched as everyone hastened to follow orders, somewhat awed by the transformation of the practical jokester she had known to the assertive military leader in front of her. For a spit second, a younger black-haired man stood before her, masked eyes taking in everything and issuing instructions, but she blinked and he was gone.

A touch shaken by this, she shook it from her mind and followed SG…8, Jack had said, falling into step just behind Daniel.

"Um, uh…excuse me…"

The teen started slightly and turned to the young man beside her; he looked familiar…

"Hi," she said brightly, not really having a better response.

He coloured lightly. "H-hi. Um, I, uh…I wanted to thank you…Miss Logan."

His face suddenly slid into context: Sgt. Williams, the young soldier she had healed, god was it really three-ish months before? She remembered it like it was the day before; his team had come in under heavy fire, Major Peterson had carried him through the 'Gate and she had caught the staff blasts that threatened the 'Gate Room. The trip to the infirmary, the healing, the _pain_, all came back and she smiled at him. (See Chapter 7 of INEBG)

"It's Victoria," she replied lightly. "And you don't have to thank me."

"But you saved my life," he protested, shocked by her modesty.

"And you've probably saved your teammates' lives," she responded placidly. "You know what your abilities are and you use them to help people. I just did the same thing, Sgt. Williams." She offered a bright smile as they wove around a tree.

He looked a bit surprised that she knew his name but quickly moved to hide it. "So, um…uh…"

"Friends?" The green teen offered a hand. The sergeant stared for a moment, stopping dead as him mind reeled.

"S-sure. Friends." He took the offered appendage, trembling as he shook it.

"Cool," Victoria chirped, starting off after the rest of the group.

"Steven."

She turned back, confused, as her stomach clenched.

"M-my name. It's Steven." The teen relaxed offering a wide smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, Steven. Now we should probably catch up with everyone." Victoria jogged to catch up with their group, confident that Sarg- Steven would catch up.

She didn't see the look of nausea pass over the young soldier's face before he, too, moved to follow.

* * *

><p>Victoria had to bite her lip to keep from squealing in delight when they finally got to the ruins; it was an expansive complex of buildings, some more intact then others, that spread over more than an acre. Detailed carvings, some more ornate then others, covered the tan stone and high arches made up the entrances.<p>

"Oh wow…" she breathed, craning her neck to try and see more.

"Alright, people," Major Peterson said, turning to face the group. "We're going to be sticking to the south side for now. Miles, you and I are going to take that building," he pointed at the closest structure and the woman nodded. "Williams, you're going to go with Dr. Lass and check out that building." Steven grunted a confirmation and rolled his eyes as his partner practically ran towards a slightly larger one. "And you, Dr. Jackson, get to pick yours."

Daniel looked around, hundreds of ancient layouts running through his mind as he tried to figure out what the best building to start with was.

"Pick that one," Victoria muttered to him, pointing at a medium sized-building about 100 feet away.

He looked at her quizzically. "Why that one?"

"Look at the stairs." She pointed. "They're more worn than the other buildings."

"Meaning it had heavier traffic, most likely pointing to a more important sight, like the main place of worship," he finished, catching her drift as a smile split his face.

The major just raised a brow at the nerds before shrugging. "It's up to you, Dr. Jackson. You gonna take it?"

The archeologist nodded, muttering his thanks, and started towards the building.

"Remember, check back in in an hour and a half. Now move out."

* * *

><p>"This is incredible," Daniel muttered, his head back as he gazed at the ceiling.<p>

Mosaics and carvings covered the entire thing, all leading to a central location around a hole in the roof. A large pool of water filled the centre of the room, still and clear, with a raised dais situated directly beneath the hole.

The doctor's bag slipped to the floor as he continued to gape and Victoria took that moment to fish her camcorder out of a vest pocket; she had been instructed to document the scene as best she could for further study back on Earth. She flicked it on, training it on Daniel to begin recording.

"The-the-the shape of the structure is similar to ancient Greek or Roman, but the writing looks more like Sanskrit," he muttered, totally out of it. "The roof is a free-standing dome, without any interior pillars, and it has an opening for ventilation and light in the centre."

He turned to Victoria, mouth open to question, only to stop at the sight of her taping him.

"No, please, continue," she said with a grin. "I'm just taking for posterity."

Daniel chuckled at her and moved towards the middle, nearly slipping on the slick stones. Victoria put the camera away, unclipping her own bag and moving beside him.

"You want to see the alter?" she asked, noticing his wistful look.

"That would be incredible, but we'll have to wait for more equip-" he stopped with a cry, flailing his arms as the floor began to move. Or rather, they began to hover over the pool, landing gently on the stone in the middle.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as the teen laughed.

"It's alright." She shrugged it off "Want your bag over here, too?" He nodded and the object it question floated over to them, landing in his arms.

"I'm going to take some rubbings of the alter," the scientist told her, routing about his bag until he came up with paper and crayons.

"What do you want me to do?" the teen asked.

He looked around, trying to think of something she would enjoy that was also constructive.

"There are carvings on the floor that lead to the pool, do you think you could get some pictures and begin to translate them?"

The teen beamed and nodded, flying to shore and digging out the camera again. "I'll shout if I find anything interesting."

* * *

><p>An hour and twenty minutes later, a burst of radio static startled both nerds from their respective ponderings, the younger falling ten feet from her perch studying a section of wall.<p>

"Daniel, V, you guys there?" Jack's voice asked.

They shot each other embarrassed looks, the teen ribbing her back as the doctor answered his radio.

"Yeah, we're here, Jack."

"Good. Shoulda' figured you two would forget to check in. Tell Squirt to set her timer for the next one, 'k?" The green girl dutifully did so, fumbling with her watch as O'Neill continued. "Carter's found something interesting on the far side of the complex and we're goin' to check it out."

"Understood, Jack. We'll check back in two hours," Daniel responded.

"Good. O'Neill over and out."

"Oops," Victoria said, laughing sheepishly after the radio went dead.

"It's not the first time I've been late checking in, it's fine," he reassured her, rubbing his forehead.

A canteen bumped into him and he looked up, startled for a moment before taking it gratefully.

"You should have a protein bar, too. It's past noon back on Earth and you haven't eaten since before the briefing."

He obeyed, fetching a bar from his vest and unwrapping it, chewing thoughtfully.

"What I don't understand is the reason for the pool. Nothing on this mentions anything about it, or about water, even."

Victoria flew to his side, looking over his shoulder. "You translated this bit wrong."

He looked at her strangely.

"The language is similar to Sanskrit, bit there's a slight difference in the appearance of the characters. This one," she pointed to something he had translated as 'power,' "is water, I'm pretty sure."

Daniel cocked his head, squinting for a moment before his eyes snapped open and he began scribbling, tweaking his work.

"That's incredible. How did you figure that out?" he asked, turning in shock.

"The stuff that SG-5 brought back just before the foothold incident was in the same language; I translated the entire thing wrong before I realized it."

He nodded his understanding. "Well this makes much more sense, now. It talks about the water of the gods consuming those unworthy to be here." At this, he glanced nervously at the water surrounding them.

"I'll check out the pool. Hold this." Victoria shed her vest, handing it to him before jumping in.

The archeologist rushed to the side, shining his flashlight in worriedly and relaxing when he caught sight of the octopus swimming about the bottom. Seconds later, the teen surfaced, shaking hair from her eyes.

"There's a hole in the bottom that goes down a long way before turning, but I can't make out much more," she informed him. "Do you have a glow-stick in there?"

Daniel fished one out and tossed it to her, marveling as she changed back into a cephalopod and sank into the deep, the light growing fainter until it whisked out of sight.

Minutes ticked by as he waited with baited breath, and soon he began to grow worried. He checked his watch; seven minutes and she hadn't surfaced. Reaching for his radio, he never heard the movement behind him, not knowing what was happening until the sound of a Zat discharge reached his ears and he fell forward into the water, unconscious.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week:<strong>

**Chapter 9 One Two Three, And One Two...**

**In which there is more water, a cephalopod, broken bones and much, much worry.**


	9. Chapter 9: One, Two, Three, and One

**Hey guys; as promised, chapter 9 a day early. Thank all of you for your reviews (6! I'm so happy T.T) and yes, things do start going wrong. I apologise in advanced for any angst. As a reward for your dedication, you get an uber long chapter that I wrote almost 6 months ago (this, the last and the next were all originally part of INEBG .).**

**A note for this, I am actually trained and certified to perform CPR; they told us that if you don't break ribs, you're doing it wrong. Additionally, please remember that this takes place in the early 2000's when rescue breathing was still taught as part of CPR (they changed it the week after I got certified, not kidding and thanks to **_Sandy_** for pointing that out).**

**Um, for next week things might start getting a bit hinky as my laptop is circling the drainpipe as we speak; don't worry, though, EVERYTHING I have for this story is safely on backed up on two flash-drives and an external hard-drive. **

**So, keep your fingers crossed for next week and, without further ado, chapter 9.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9 One Two Three, And One Two...<br>In which there is more water, a cephalopod, broken bones and much, much worry.**

Victoria looked around the tube in awe, her suckers holding her in place and allowing her to study it. She couldn't believe the detail in the writing that lined it, each figure less than an inch high and clearly defined in the greenish glow. By all accounts it should have been impossible for humans to carve them this far from the surface, but there they were. She moved forward, following the directions given, and found herself in a large cavern, an air pocket opening up in it.

The teen surfaced, morphing back to human as she held the glow-stick high, cursing its dimness. One wall held an ornate door, a sill protruding from it several feet, and she heaved herself up, shaking out her clothes and moving closer to the ruins.

Her eyes widened; the stuff surrounding the door wasn't Sanskrit, it was Norse. She shoved the glow-stick between her teeth, searching through her pockets until she found the camcorder. Thanking Sam's forethought, she opened the plastic bag it was sealed in, drying her hands as best she could before fumbling to turn it on.

"This is incredible," she told the device, scanning the door with it. "The temple above is covered in something very close to Sanskrit, but this is all in Norse. The two cultures are entirely different, they never had contact with each other. Hell, they were hundreds of years apart! This shouldn't be here!" The teen tried very hard not to bounce up and down in excitement. "This is amazing. The writing is unmistakably Norse, you can tell by the use of Anglo-Saxon runes. Just wait until Daniel sees-" She stopped cold.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. The comforting trickle of familiar thoughts from above had ceased completely, shut off like a water tap in a way that could only mean one thing.

"Something's happened to Daniel," she muttered, hurriedly stuffing the camera back in its bag without bothering to shut it off. She sealed it quickly and dove into the water, shooting back up the channel as a sailfish and making it back to the temple in less than half the time it took leaving.

Victoria broke the surface as a human with a loud splash, whipping her head around.

"Daniel? Daniel!" she cried, climbing to shore for a better view. Her innards froze when she saw the archeologist floating several feet below the surface of the water on the far side of the pool.

She dove back in, tearing his heavy equipment vest off before catching him about the chest and hauling him to shore. Once sure that they wouldn't slide back in, she pressed an ear to his chest. A moment later she cursed and tore open his jacket, leaving only the black tee within. Again, she listened and cursed again, sitting up and placing both hands on his sternum.

"Fifteen compressions, two breaths," she muttered, Janet's voice instructing her in her head as she counted off, yelling at him to wake up with each press and wincing as she felt a couple of his ribs give. When she was done, she tilted his head back and pinched his nose, breathing into his mouth. Nothing happened and she repeated the process, mixing magic in to clear his lungs and throat and forcing herself to continue as more bones cracked beneath her hands.

Immediately, water began coming up and she rolled him on his side as he coughed up half the pool.

The teen fell back in relief, smiling and taking the camera out of her pocket so she wouldn't break it.

"You had me worried there, Daniel," she laughed lightly, calming down as he stopped hacking, rolling limply onto his back.

He remained still, not totally conscious yet, and the teen kissed is brow in joy.

"V…" his voice was raspy and faint, and he tried to make the room stop spinning, but his chest burned from lack of oxygen and broken ribs. He had to warn her.

She couldn't hear him over the roar of her own pulse as she tried to still the beating of her heart.

"You going to tell me what happened or should I wait until after calling the cavalry to ask?" she chuckled, still high on relief as she reached out for her radio, the device floating towards her.

"Victoria…" His second try wasn't much better and he could only listen in horror as the Zat discharged again, felling the teen where she sat. The walkie-talkie clattered to the floor, eerie in the sudden silence.

Daniel struggled to sit up, to get his own weapon, to do _something_ as a dark figure approached, bending over the green girl for a moment before hefting her over a shoulder. He managed to roll to his side, propping himself up with an arm and snarling in pain as the shape retreated.

"St-top," he croaked, reaching for them in vain.

The abductor obeyed, turning back to the archeologist and raising an arm.

"Sorry, Dr. Jackson." Blue lightning hit him and he knew no more.

* * *

><p>Once sure the doctor was down for the count and not following, the figure pulled out a radio, carefully set to a different channel then the SG teams.<p>

"Objective complete. I have the girl."

"Very good," his partner said, voice crackling in his earpiece. "Any damages?"

The figure paused, contemplating. "Dr. Jackson's unconscious. I hit him with a Zat before taking her."

"Did he see you?"

"No."

"Excellent. And you administered the sedative?"

"Yes, I gave her the first dose. It should hold until I get to the facility. If not, I'll give her the second."

"Perfect. Proceed to the Stargate. We'll take her to the offworld base."

"Understood." He shut off the radio, trying very hard not to smirk.

Silently, he exited the temple, being sure to avoid any areas where he could be spotted as he made his way to the Stargate.

* * *

><p>"Daniel, come in. Daniel, are you there?" Jack O'Neill was not a man to worry, generally, but he was starting to approach that point. "Squirt, do you read me?"<p>

He glanced over at Carter who was looking over the…thing they had found like a kid with the deed to a candy shop. It was huge, it was gleaming, and it was covered in what were presumably instructions. To the colonel, they looked like squiggles.

"Would one of you eggheads please respond? Carter found a new toy and we want to read the directions before blowing anything up."

Silence continued to reign and he exchanged a worried glance with Teal'c, who stood stoically to the side, eyebrow raised.

"Perhaps they turned their radios off until they were required to check in, O'Neill," the I offered.

"V, maybe, but Daniel doesn't do that," Jack replied, shaking his head. He checked his watch; another forty-three minutes until next roll call. Something in his gut said that they couldn't wait that long.

"Carter, pack it up." The blonde looked up, startled. "Daniel and Victoria aren't answering the horn, so we're gonna go check on them."

She nodded her understanding and stowed her scanners and doodads before picking up her P-90 and joining her comrades at the entrance.

"Peterson," the colonel barked into the microphone as most of SG-1 headed south. A moment later the speaker crackled to life.

"Yes sir?"

"Which building were Dr. Jackson and Victoria looking at?"

"One of the main buildings left of the gates; it had a heavily decorated entrance. The girl said something about the steps being more worn then the others."

"Thank you kindly, Major." He released the call button, keeping an eye out for the structure in question.

* * *

><p>"Daniel, you in here?" Jack called, exasperated. This was the third building they had tried, the first had been unoccupied and they had run into SG-8's archeologist in the second. The scientist – Lass, he was pretty sure – had given them more accurate directions before going back to his translations, muttering something about chickens.<p>

He strode in, closely followed by Teal'c and Carter as they searched for any sign of their friends.

"Daniel!" Sam yelled, spotting the unmoving form first. She ran to him as the colonel and I shifted into battle mode, their weapons up and checking for any hostiles.

She carefully turned him over, laying him on his back and checking him over; he was very wet, his jacket open and his bulky equipment vest was nowhere to be seen; someone had been performing CPR, which made it likely that a rib or two was bruised, if not broken.

The blonde carefully put her head to his chest and was grateful to hear both a steady pulse and breathing.

"What happened, Carter?" O'Neill asked, approaching her once he was certain that no enemies hid in the shadows.

"Someone had to perform rescue breathing, sir, probably chest compressions, as well. Judging by the state of his clothing, it wasn't too long ago, under an hour. He's still alive and relatively stable, but we should get him back to Earth soon," she reported.

Teal'c joined them. "There is no sign of Victoria Logan, though all of her equipment is still here."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sam said; Jack raised a brow. "Sir, if Daniel were hurt, the first thing she would do would be to radio us or use her telepathy, not go running off."

The colonel frowned, silently agreeing, and found her pack; the radio lay halfway between it and the archeologist. He pressed the call button several times and got static; it was working.

"Alright, Carter, you and Teal'c bring Daniel back to the SGC. I'll get SG's 3 and 8 and start looking for Victoria. Something went down here, and I don't like it."

His teammates nodded and each took an arm, gently lifting their unconscious friend off the ground. As they left, a crumpled plastic bag caught the colonel's eye and he swiped it, examining its contents. A small camera was inside, still switched on though the battery had long since faded.

"Carter." She and Teal'c paused. "Take this with you, see if you can't find out what happened."

The major nodded an affirmative and pocketed the bag, heading towards the 'Gate as O'Neill radioed the other teams.

* * *

><p>"Fuckin' hell…" Victoria groaned, consciousness hitting with all the grace and subtlety of a jackhammer. She squinted and blinked, trying to force her eyes to focus as blurs floated past her line of vision.<p>

"She's waking up, sir."

_Oh crap, not this again…_

"We're not ready yet. We have to get her off-planet. Put her back under."

_No, damnit!_

She weakly tried to protest, thrashing her head and waving her spaghetti arms at the blur approaching only to have them roughly smacked away.

"Hold her down."

Strong hands, different from the first, gently grasped her arms, pinning them to her sides as something pricked her inner arm. The second person retreated and she curled up, rolling on her side and fighting the drugs.

"Give her a few seconds. She'll be under soon enough."

Her fingers began to grow numb and she fumbled with her dog tags, trying to work the smaller chain off without them noticing. The fastener popped free as cold spread through her limbs and she grinned faintly into the dirt, sliding the metal's edge into the soil.

It bit into her palm until the tag was submerged and, her body now totally numb, she could only murmur 'no' weakly as the world faded to black once more.

* * *

><p>Once he was sure that their guest was unconscious, he glanced at his partner.<p>

"Go check the Stargate clearing, I'll stay here with –"

He was cut off as a shrill chime sounded, effectively giving away their positions.

"What the hell is that?" The younger man shrugged and searched the teen's body, quickly finding and turning off her watch alarm.

"We'd better hope no-one heard that… Go check the 'Gate. Once we're sure it's clear, you take her through and I'll cover for you."

Still somewhat shaken, the shorter nodded and ran off. He returned within minutes and took the girl with him just seconds before one of the perimeter team found him.

"Are you alright, sir?" Lt. Clark asked, looking around the clearing. "I thought I heard something…"

"Everything's fine, Lieutenant." He tapped his time piece. "I set my watch to go off in time for the next check-in."

She gave him a long steady look before accepting his answer and walking away, continuing her rounds.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back." There was no warmth in the words. "Do you have her?"<p>

He rolled his eyes, thinking sarcastically that he didn't and the person on his shoulder was a figment of their collective imaginations. His escort snorted.

"Yes."

"Excellent, come with me."

They went to the med centre and he laid his cargo on a bed gently. An eyebrow was raised at this.

"Don't want her damaged, do we?" he shot back.

A murmur of agreement was the only response.

"We don't have the necessary tools here. You'll have to arrange a transport to our other facilities."

He nodded, that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach creeping back.

"Understood. I'll contact base and relay the information at the next rendezvous."

"Perfect, now get going."

The commander turned back to unconscious form, gazing at the girl with a discomforting gleam in his eye.

"Yes, sir." He nearly choked on the words as he left.

* * *

><p><strong>Next week:<strong>

**Chapter 10 Red Rum**

**In which many things go wrong all at once.**


	10. Chapter 10: Red Rum

**Chapter Ten here for you, in all its creepy glory. The jokes are fewer and farther between and a real downer turn. Just a warning that this story includes bad stuff happening to a minor, so if that bothers you, keep a heads up in the author notes for warnings. **

_Jen_**, darling, it's finally here, you can stop abusing your poor watch; **_Major Simi_** and **_Mist of Rainbows_**, thank you again for your reviews and **_SaffyGirl_**, I hope I catch you at your computer.**

**Bar none, the darkest chapter I have written for this, just a heads up. The stuff's hitting the fan and the end ain't even in sight. That's what happens when you watch Underworld: Evolution at 2 in the morning.  
>Wrote this so long ago it was originally part of INEBG ^_^;<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10 Red Rum<br>In which many things go wrong all at once.**

Daniel hurt. All over, really, but mostly his chest. He sucked in an experimental breath and immediately regretted it as pain radiated through his abdomen.

"Easy there, Daniel. You've had a rough day." Janet's voice, calm and soothing as ever, washed over him and he relaxed for a moment.

Wait, what was Janet doing there? Where was there, anyway? The last thing he remembered was being shot on P3X-484 and someone taking…

"Victoria!" He was suddenly side awake, bolting upright in the infirmary bed and immediately regretting the action as agony ripped through his torso.

"Daniel, calm down! You're aggravating your wounds!" Dr. Frasier's commanding voice broke through his haze of pain and he sunk back onto the bed limply, panting.

"Victoria…she was taken…couldn't see…" he wheezed, spots flashing before his eyes.

"Daniel, you have to calm down. We know Victoria is missing; Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c are leading SG's 3 and 8 in a search of the area, but you have to keep still. Your sternum is cracked and several of your ribs are broken and need to heal. If you don't calm down, I will have to sedate you."

Only parts of the doctor's speech reached him through the haze of pain and panic and soon the room began to darken, fading out as something cold spread through his arm.

* * *

><p>"Fuck! Get back!"<p>

"Shit…Is she awake?"

It was the same voice as before…

"Not fully. Jesus Christ…"

"We need to up the dosage."

She had been moved, the air was different…

"That could kill her!"

"She almost killed us!"

There were more voices this time…Three, maybe four…

"Holy crap, duck!"

Her arms weren't cooperating. They were moving on their own, instinct surpassing cognitive thought.

"I can't get close enough!"

"Gimmie that, I'll do it!"

Her animal side was raging, tearing at her walls and trying to rip free as the other beings in the room circled.

"Distract her, will you?"

"What're you, nuts? Look what she did to the wall!"

"Distracting the girl will do you no good at all; she's not fully cognizant."

A new voice, calmer. The beast snarled at her harness.

"So what, this is a reflex?"

"Precisely."

"_Jesus…_"

"Some reflex…"

"_Magnificent_."

"Will someone just dose her before she throws something else?"

"Gimmie that fuckin' thing, I'll do it."

One was moving closer, danger radiating.

"Phil, look ou-!"

Things were moving that she couldn't control. The animal had gained a foothold within her and she could feel it pulling on her limbs like a puppet master, her powers completely under its command.

"Holy shit, is he dead?"

Dead?

"He's not breathing!"

Someone was dead? She couldn't have done it.

"His neck has been broken."

She didn't kill. She wasn't supposed to kill.

"No shit it's broken!"

"Jesus Christ, lookadat!"

No! She didn't kill, THEY didn't kill. It was the bold red line. The one never to be crossed. She couldn't take life, only extend. Nononononononono…

"I think she's calmin' down…"

Killer ran through her mind, filling every corner, overloading every synapse until the beast was drowned by the weight of it, forced to the back like a bad memory.

"Who the fuck cares? She killed Phil!"

..killer.

"Gimmie the needle, quick!"

..KILLER.

Coldness.

"I got her."

"You better call the boss, we can't handle this…"

"That would probably be wise, Newman."

Silence.

_Killer…_

* * *

><p>"Report."<p>

"Objective completed. The package is here at the offworld base."

"Excellent."

"Colonel Heine requests that she be moved."

"Why?"

"Our facilities are inadequate for something of this caliber. She tore through several walls with the gurney and injured four people."

"Any fatalities?"

"One. Phillip Johnson."

"How?"

"She drove the I.V. stand through his neck."

There was a pause. This was the first time he had ever heard them stunned into silence.

"Do you need a stronger tranqulliser?"

"Isaacs says no. Apparently she was still partly under the effects during the incident."

"She through a bed through a wall while unconscious?"

"According to him she was in a semi-conscious state between doses."

"Incredible…"

"Are we going to move her?"

"What choice do we have? Give her the highest dosage that won't kill her and we'll set up here."

"Understood. When will the drop off be?"

"Give us thirteen hours to make preparations. We need to get the force field fully operational.

"So it seems."

"That would be advisable."

"We will contact you or your partner with the specifics."

"Understood."

The line went dead and he had to rub his palms against his pants to rid them of their sweat.

* * *

><p>"Peterson, what's your status?" Colonel O'Neill barked into his walkie-talkie; it had been three hours since Carter and Teal'c had returned and so far he and his team had found nothing.<p>

"We got nothing, Colonel. There's been nobody in these ruins but us."

"Makepeace, what about you?"

"No activity at the 'Gate, sir. No-one's come or gone other than Major Carter and Teal'c."

"Redding?"

"Nothing sir."

"Goddamnit!" he growled, kicking a stone. It ricocheted several times before skidding across the floor, stopping inches from its starting point. SG-1 was in the building they had found Daniel in, trying to find anything unusual; they had spent hours combing the surrounding land, only to wind up back where they started with no more information.

"Sir, if it's alright, I would like to go back to the SGC and work on that camera you found," Sam requested.

"Yeah, sure. Good idea, Carter," Jack responded, distracted.

She paused for a moment at the entrance, and turned back. "We will find her, sir."

He looked up tiredly, following the major's retreating form and wishing desperately that he had her faith in the matter.

* * *

><p>Teal'c kneeled on the sandy stones, searching for a sign that someone other than his teammates had been present; there had been little rain on the planet, most of the vegetation getting its water from the high humidity, which made the soil around the ruins dry and firm.<p>

Poor conditions for tracking, but he had been in worse.

His mahogany eyes scanned the path to and from the building, paying special attention to the cracks, when he caught sight of a dark smudge. He moved forward, running a finger over the tiny fissure in the stone.

It was dirt, far darker than any in the immediate area, and he scraped a bit out. The grains stuck together, moist, and the I stood, looking for anything similar. A few feet ahead there was another clump, then another; he followed, careful not to disturb the trail, until the stones disappeared and the ground darkened, the forest consuming him.

Once more, Teal'c paused, carefully analyzing the firm soil until a partial footprint caught his eye.

"O'Neill," he rumbled into his radio. "I believe I have found something."

"Nice goin' T. Where are you?"

"West-southwest of the complex, on the edge of the forest."

"Good, I'm on my way."

The I released the device, turning his full attention to the print and minutes later, the colonel appeared by his side, eager for news.

"These prints are relatively recent, similar to the standard issue boots of the SGC," he reported, tracing the edge with a finger and rubbing them together.

"Yeah, so? Maybe one of our guys walked this way."

Teal'c glanced at him, eyebrow raised. "Major Peterson informed us that his group entered and exited via the main entrance. There would be no reason for one of their footprints to be this far from that path." He pointed to the indent, tracing the silhouette. "Also, the size is inconsistent with the depth of the print; this ground is dry, therefore-"

"Even if it was one of our guys, it wouldn't be that deep," Jack finished, looking further into the woods for any sign of the trail.

"Unless whoever made this track was bearing a heavy burden."

"Like a person…"

"Indeed."

* * *

><p>"We don't have much time. Our sources tell us that they already know the girl is missing."<p>

"How could they know already? We've had her less than five hours."

"I'm surprised it took so long."

"This could make things difficult."

"The primary plan won't work now."

"Why not?"

"They will be on alert."

"How does that affect us?"

"The second Stargate is under the direct command of Hammond."

"That could pose problems."

"Our man can't get much time there as it is. To make the proper preparations with an increased guard would be impossible."

"Do we have an alternative?"

"We have a possibly viable option; their techs are working on it."

"I would suggest you hurry. We can't afford any more fatalities at the offworld site."

"Yes, sir."

"You, call our man in the SGC and get an update. I want to know what they do."

"Yes, sir."

"And you, keep tabs on our offworld base. The second anything else happens, I want to know."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

><p>"Teal'c's following the trail, sir, but it doesn't look like we're dealing with any sort of native population," Jack told the MALP, squinting into the camera as the 'Gate glowed behind it. "Not unless they figured out how to make hiking boots."<p>

"Are you thinking it was the rogue NID team that escaped through the second Stargate in Utah last year?" the general asked, watching him on the monitors of the control room on Earth.

"Seems pretty logical. 'Course, then we have another problem."

"How did they know where you were going to be and when?" Hammond agreed gravely.

"It seems that we might have a security breach, sir."

The general remained silent, pondering the repercussions. "Find out what you can and report back within the hour. We'll contact you if Major Carter is able to get anything from the camera you recovered."

"Thank you, sir. O'Neill out." On the screen, the colonel nodded and walked away, the monitor flicking off as the 'Gate deactivated.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week:<strong>

**Chapter 11 Damn You Murphy**

**In which things are found, dreams are had, drugs are administered and creepers watch people sleep.**


	11. Chapter 11: Damn You, Murphy

**Trust my luck that Doc uploader is broken when I try to post this .. Thanks to all six of you who reviewed and to the one new person who liked enough to put this alerts. **

**For all of you who keep saying "Boy, those bad guys are stupid," let me remind you that dumber things have been done within the universe already. Included, but limited to, are: Trying to experiment on Teal'c, killing Daniel, kidnapping Sam, killing Daniel, waltzing into the SGC and trying to take over (I count twice in the first three seasons), killing Daniel, pissing Jack off in general and, of course, killing Daniel. **

**In short, I'm just fallowing a longstanding tradition.**

**And, just a note, when I said 'minor,' I meant 'legal minor,' like someone under the age of 18. A kid, child, munchkin, green bean by any other name.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11 Damn You Murphy<br>In which things are found, dreams are had, drugs are administered and creepers watch people sleep.**

Teal'c was vaguely aware of the Stargate disengaging somewhere in the background and O'Neill's approaching footsteps. These were tuned out accordingly as he continued to scan the small clearing, taking in the markings in the soil. He had followed the trail that began at the temple complex all the way to the small clearing he found himself in. It was a good distance within the perimeter scoped out and within eye-line of the 'Gate itself, making it the perfect staging area for anyone wanting to get off world in a hurry.

Two large distinct sets of boot prints were visible in the dry dirt, twisting and weaving through each other as their owners had walked about, juggling something large between them.

Something that had moved on its own.

A smudged handprint, its maker small but strong, lay beside a flattened area, the dusty soil loose and churned. A glimmer in the print's centre caught his eye and he carefully brushed it off, finding it to be a simple ball chain. The Jaffa grasped it, gently tugging it out of the soil until a metal disc hung before him.

"Find anything, T?" O'Neill had chosen that moment to appear, evidently looking around from the changes in his voice.

"Indeed I have, O'Neill." He stood, wiping the dirt away from the raised lettering and holding it so the colonel could see it as well. Over his shoulder, Jack swore as the text became evident.

It was Victoria's dog tag.

* * *

><p>Sam jogged through the halls of the SGC, Victoria's camera clutched tightly in her hand; it had taken her nearly twenty minutes for her and Sgt. Seiler to find the right power chord to charge the stupid thing and she didn't want to waste anymore time.<p>

She mumbled an apology as she slid around several of the civilian staff, nearly toppling over before righting herself as she turned the corner.

Dr. Davis raised a brow glancing at her fiery-haired companion. "What was that about?"

Dr. Turner shrugged in response. "You've got me."

The second Sam entered her lab she opened her laptop, digging the camera out of the plastic bag and groaning as it dripped on her desk; this was going to take longer than she thought.

* * *

><p>It was dark. Very dark. The kind of dark that made his heart skip several beats in fear that he had suddenly gone blind. The faint outline of his hands came into focus soon, however, and Daniel breathed a sigh of short-lived relief; while he hadn't lost his sight, he still didn't have any clue as to where he was or why. There was no wind, no sound, just the utter emptiness of the void.<p>

"Hello?" the scientist called, not really expecting an answer.

Consequently, the sound of something soft hitting the floor behind him made him jump, raising an arm in defense as he turned to find the source.

A large, absurdly purple stuffed orangutan sat looking at him, its head tilted slightly as if it were curious about him or their…location.

Oddly calmed, Daniel walked to the plush toy, familiarity tugging at the back of his mind; he _knew_ this thing from somewhere. He'd seen it before, he was sure of it.

The primate simply stared back, unwilling to tell him where they'd met before.

Unsure of what else to do, Daniel crouched beside the thing, taking in every detail he could in an attempt to place the thing in whatever context he had seen it in before.

He didn't expect the thing's head to turn, following him.

"Jeeze!" the archeologist exclaimed, falling backwards as he scrambled away. When it began to talk, he nearly had a heart attack.

"She's coming." The words were muffled, the genderless voice rich while the finer phonemes sounded odd due to a suspicious lack of vocal chords or lips. "She's coming soon, Daniel."

"How do you know my name?" Of all the things to ask, of course he chose one of the least pressing.

"You have to be ready for her, she won't have much time."

"Who's coming? Why won't she have much time?"

Huge glass eyes blinked at him, agonizingly slow as the darkness began to clear.

"Be ready, Daniel."

The world bleached to white and the ape was gone.

* * *

><p>Daniel woke with a start, jerking up in bed and immediately regretting the action as his chest screamed a painful protest. Fire spread out from his sternum and spots danced before his eyes in response and he sucked in breath by agonizing as he willed the world to stop spinning.<p>

"Dr. Jackson! Calm down before you hurt yourself!"

He turned, vision blurry from pain and the fact that his glasses were on the side table; a slender figure, noticeably taller than Janet, was striding towards him, bright red hair beginning to escape its severe bun. She was vaguely familiar, especially because of her hair colour, and he struggled to recall her name as she pushed him back down onto the mattress.

"You have three fractured ribs, two more that are broken and several cracks in your sternum, all of which will be aggravated and hurt more if you don't keep still," she snapped, her pen moving furiously over her clipboard as she took in all of the readings from the switchboard of devices beside him.

Well, that explained the pain…

"Where's Janet?" he croaked, his throat dry and sore from its earlier abuse.

"She's left for the night, follow the light, please." Her tone was sharp, her manner brisk, and he did as he was told, squinting slightly at the brightness.

"What happened?" Daniel asked as soon as the penlight had been pocketed, resisting the urge to breathe deeply and rub his eyes to rid his vision of the spots that now sprinkled the far wall.

"Apparently," the doctor said distractedly, tweaking a knob one of the machine beside him, "You fell into a lake of some sort and breathed in a good amount of water." No… it wasn't a lake…. It was a pool… in a temple? Maybe a temple, he couldn't remember. But he could see a high domed ceiling and a dais rising out of crystal clear waters. Victoria was floating cross-legged about half-way up the far wall with papers and a camera, documenting it.

"Someone performed CPR on you, did a pretty good job of it too, but that's why your chest is in the state it's in." A soaking wet face the colour of grass looming above him, a familiar voice shouting at him to 'wake up, damnit!' before she torched his office as punishment for dying on her.

The redhead finished her notes, sliding the pen into a pocket before fixing him with an intense green stare.

"Now, do you remember anything about what happened today?"

Aside from flashbacks…? "No. Not really."

She pursed her lips, raising a brow as she fixed him with a disbelieving stare. "Right… Now, because it's the middle of the night and you need to heal, I'm going to give you a mild sedative. It will help you sleep until morning." She left, returning within moments sans clipboard and with a small needle.

Daniel watched her tapping it, getting the air out as a question floated around the outskirts of his mind; there was something wrong, something important that he couldn't remember but he really should because it was, well, important. The needle went into the IV line and a cool trickling sensation danced up the inside of his arm. His lids grew heavy, threatening to shut just as he remembered his question.

"Where's Victoria?" The words were mangled and slurred, but the message was received more or less.

The doctor raised a brow again, capping the syringe. "Haven't the foggiest. I didn't work the day shift, so I wouldn't have done her post."

The answer satisfied his drugged brain and he gave in to sleep.

* * *

><p>"How much longer until it's ready?"<p>

"We should be ready to leave in an hour, maybe less, sir; we're just running last minute checks to make sure that the cloaking device is fully operational and encompasses the entire ship."

"Good work, Clare. I want to know the second we can leave."

"Y-yes, sir."

"Something the matter?"

"…Just didn't realize you'd be leaving, sir."

"Yeah; orders from the top. Zachary's in charge from now on."

"Major Newman?"

"The very same."

"When were you going to tell us?"

"When we leave for Earth. Now, go finish those checks; I have to check on our guest of honour."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

><p>She was immaculate, even in her dirty too-large BDUs. Her purpure hair fanned out over the pillow, the strands long since cleaned of the dust that had held them together, and her skin was free of any of the usual teenaged blemishes. The jade flesh was smooth, dotted with emerald freckles that clustered on her elegant nose and high cheekbones, the latter arching beneath thick plum lashes.<p>

Lying there, face relaxed and serene, he was very hard pressed to believe much of what Frasier's file had contained.

He could see no instability, no volatility to the girl; to the contrary she showed an overwhelming air of grace, of almost animalistic fluidity that he was sure translated to her movements, not that he would see her move.

It was his job to keep her under, after all.

But this adolescent before him begged his attention, even unconscious, and it was in his observations that he realized that she was no freak of nature, no genetic fluke.

_She __was__ nature._

She was all things mammalian, reptilian, human, everything wrapped up in one. She was the next, most logical evolutionary stage of human development and all he really had to do was find out just _how_ she had occurred, which proteins had mutated past their original parameters in order to produce so efficient, so _complex_ a creature.

And he could barely wait until they got back to Earth to figure out how.

* * *

><p><strong>PS: Purpure is really a colour, it's a royal purple.<strong>

**Coming next week:**

**Chapter 12 Mad Scientist Alert**

**In which situations are analyzed, memories kind of come back and prognosis's are made.**


	12. Chapter 12: Mad Scientist Alert

**Here you go, luvs, chapter 12. Daniel finally wakes up and things keep rolling along, **

**Thank you four who reviewed and I'm glad you like it so much. Actual writing has been slow lately, so in a couple of weeks the updates may get sparse, but hopefully I'll have some free time soon.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12 Mad Scientist Alert<br>In which situations are analyzed, memories kind of come back and prognosis's are made.**

They were moving. At least, she was pretty sure they were, if not now then very soon; the thoughts of those around her had reached a fever pitch, some becoming loud enough to pierce the veil of fog shrouding her. Fragments about engines, supplies and dosages drifted in and out, none of it making much sense without the entire picture. So, with nothing better to do then just float around her subconscious (which was rather boring since she had gotten rid of the hot tub), Victoria decided to meditate.

Because _that_ always made things go faster.

Of course, she was thinking too much for any sort of effective trance to take hold and after a few seconds she decided to just think over her situation before trying to calm herself.

It was pretty obvious that she'd been kidnapped, as she was fairly certain that it wasn't the SGC's standard practice to incapacitate their own personnel, especially after she had just dragged Daniel's clumsy ass out of the stupid pool. Unless, of course, whoever had Zat-ed her had gotten Daniel first and used him as bait to distract her. That thought implied some very uncomfortable possibilities, though.

First- That whoever it was knew her well enough to know that she was friends with Daniel.

Second- That they knew that she had telepathic abilities and that she could tell when he passed out.

And third- That they were a member of the SGC because she had not sensed them.

It was the last one that scared her the most; someone at the SGC, almost certainly someone who had come through the 'Gate with her and the rest of SG-1, had tried to drown Daniel and kidnapped her. Her fleeting moments of consciousness hadn't really given her much other than some garbled thoughts and surface readings on personalities. Again, this last one yielded disconcerting results.

The last time she had woken, everything had been blurry, people had been shouting, and nothing was clear in the chaos save for one cold, clear, calculatingly_ precise_ thought that had driven through the muddle like a javelin.

_Magnificent_.

Victoria shuddered involuntarily at the recollection. The mind was that uttered it was totally unfamiliar and the mere _tone_ of it, standing out amongst the general pandemonium, an eye within the emotional storm. It was scientific. It was menacing.

It was absolutely terrifying.

The teen had met someone similar, once, when she was about ten; a totally conscienceless soul. Then it had been an ancient dragon trapped inside one of her mother's spell books. Now it was even worse: a human scientist with a new specimen.

Her.

A burst of power shot from her forehead into the black as her fear spiked and she started to retch, her metaphysical 'stomach' unable to handle it. After a few moments she straightened, wiping her mouth and idly wondering just how active an imagination you had to have to puke inside your own head.

She then decided that meditation was a very, very good idea.

The teen sat, folding her legs and bringing her hands to form a circle at her stomach, before beginning, the soothing mantra of '_Aarath, Matrion, Zinthos_' filling the void.

Her last thought before clearing her mind was _**I hope you guys find me soon**__…_

* * *

><p><em><strong>I hope you guys find me soon…<strong>_

The soft thought that wasn't his woke Daniel as completely as a bucket of ice water would have, causing him to jerk awake painfully for the third time in under twenty-four hours.

"Daniel! Doc, he's awake!" Jack's voice was somewhere above him. Wait, when did Jack get here? Where was here?

The fuzzy form of Janet appeared, recognizable by her relative height to the green mass that he assumed was Jack.

"Good morning, Daniel," the diminutive doctor greeted, scribbling on her ever-present clipboard. "How are you feeling?"

He took a deep breath, mentally screaming as his chest expanded. "Like someone dropped a car on my chest," he croaked, throat still dry. "Could I get some water…?"

Instantly there was a straw pressed to his lips and he drank greedily, relishing the cool relief the liquid brought to his abused windpipe. He released it when he was done and opened his eyes, squinting as Jack put the cup down and got his glasses.

"Here." The colonel gently guided them onto his face. "Your regular pair got cracked so I went through your office and got your spares."

"V told you where I keep them?" Daniel asked, trying to sit up and missing the look that Janet and Jack shot each other.

"Daniel," the doctor began cautiously, making him turn to face her. "What exactly do you remember about your mission to P3X-484?"

He closed his eyes, trying to think. "Umm… We were documenting some ruins, some sort of religious complex by the look of it." Huge sandy-coloured buildings surrounded by forest. "Victoria and I were translating the walls and alter of what we thought was the main temple." Steps…something about steps and a huge arched roof over a tranquil pool of water. "There was some sort of ceremonial font and she swam down to investigate it… I don't remember anything after that."

Again, Jack and Janet glanced at each other and this time he saw, his stomach clenching. Something was wrong.

"Victoria's missing," the colonel said bluntly. "'Bout an hour after the first check-in Carter, Teal'c and I tried to raise you two on the radio and no one answered, so we went looking for you." He glanced down, lacing his hands in a very un-Jack-like manner before continuing. "When we found your building, you were soaking wet and unconscious and Victoria was gone."

Daniel stared, furrowing his brow in disbelief as he struggled to remember, vaguely aware of Jack continuing.

"All her gear was still there and her radio still worked, so we think someone came in, incapacitated you and took her."

"Is-is-is anyone still looking for her? Maybe there was some indigenous-"

"Teal'c found tracks that lead to the 'Gate, Daniel," Jack cut in. "We didn't have anyone covering it, which probably means that they're offworld by now."

The archeologist looked at him in horror. "So, what, she's just gone and that's it?" he snapped.

"No, it's not!" the colonel barked. "We searched ten square miles around the 'Gate and the ruins before coming back, just in case, but we didn't find anything." Jack took a steadying breath. "Hammond thinks it was an inside job and I'm inclined to agree with him. All personnel who came with us yesterday have been restricted to the base and we're conducting interviews to find out if anyone saw anything.

"Can you remember _anything_ about what happened to you two?"

Daniel stared into space, trying to process everything, as flashes of half-forgotten events passed his eyes.

"There was someone else there…" he muttered, trying to make sense of it. "Someone with a Zat…"

Jack straightened at this. "S'cuse me?"

The younger man blinked, trying to remember before turning to Jack. "In the temple… There was someone else there…I didn't see him… Shot me; I fell into the water… Victoria must have dragged me out…"

"Shot you?" Jack's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe.

"Yeah with the…Zat…" Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember. "They got V, too, after she, um, uh…" He searched for the right word.

"Resuscitated you," Janet finished.

"Yeah… and he shot me again…"

"Did you get a good look at the guy?" Jack asked.

"No…" An army-green blur, a deep voice saying…something, then nothing. He grunted in frustration, leaning back and suppressing a curse as his ribs moved unnaturally.

"Easy, easy." Janet checked his vitals before retrieving a syringe. "If it's alright with you, Colonel, I'm going to give him a mild sedative. He's told us all he can for now and according to Dr. Turner he didn't sleep well; he needs rest."

Jack leveled a long look at the archeologist before nodding. "Get some sleep, Daniel. We'll wake you if anything new turns up."

"Thanks Jack." The brunet's eyelids began to droop as Dr. Frasier's drugs began to take hold.

The colonel sent one last look at him, seeing the pain of separation and guilt in his slate-blue eyes and spoke before he could stop himself. "We'll get her back, Daniel."

He was almost certain the younger man breathed "I hope you're right…" as he finally fell asleep.

With Daniel resting, Jack turned to Janet. "How long's he going to be outta commission?"

"It's hard to say." She checked her notes. "He seems to have spent at least a few minutes breathing in water because there's still some in his lungs. Hopefully that won't lead to pneumonia, but we're monitoring that. Then there are the ribs."

"How bad?" the colonel asked.

"Pretty bad, sir. Two of his ribs are broken clean through and three more are fractured, all in his upper chest and all near his lungs." She brought up an X-Ray, sticking it in the light box. "His sternum also has cracks here," she pointed, "and here."

"I guess Squirt really did a number on him…" Jack muttered, a slight shiver streaking down his spine at the thought of what it must have sounded like, especially to someone as inexperienced and unaccustomed to it.

"With the amount of water he must have breathed in, it's a miracle Victoria was able to revive him at all, let alone with this little damage. As it stands, I won't let him out of bed for at least a week, maybe more depending on how good or bad these breaks look then."

"Alright. I'll relay that to Hammond, then I'm going to see Carter; I want to know if she got anything off of that camera we found." The colonel stood and left, leaving Janet and an unconscious Daniel behind in the infirmary.

* * *

><p>"Status report."<p>

"They've figured out our agents took her offworld, but that's about it."

"What about Jackson?"

"He doesn't remember a thing."

"Excellent. The ship is en-route, ETA about 2300 assuming nothing goes wrong."

"Understood. I'll alert Wesker. Standard drop off or are we going through the alternate channels?"

"Alternate channels. We're not taking any chances with this one."

"Who's supervising?"

"Heine and Isaacs are on board overseeing transport. We're also pulling Rodriguez off of Cheyenne; he's the best in his area."

"Understood, sir. I'll inform him immediately."

"Very good. Report back when it's done and keep us appraised of the SGC's movements."

"Yes sir."

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week<strong>

**Chapter 13 Progress **

**In which dreams teach of things to come and second thoughts begin to form.**


	13. Chapter 13: Progress

**Hello peoples, here be-ith the least lucky chapter (numerically speaking). I'm a little sad that the last chap only got 3 reviews, but I get it. **

**Just out of curiosity, did anyone get the RE reference in the last chap?**

**And no, Wingnut if not a superhero... technically...**

**Andand, thanks to Sandy for continuing to catck my dumb mistakes even after the chapters are uploaded ^.^;  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13 Progress<br>In which dreams teach of things to come and second thoughts begin to form.**

Sam looked around in wonder, fairly certain that she was, in fact, dreaming. At least, she was pretty sure of it because everything in her lab was floating. She walked up to a speaker, prodding it gently and was astounded when it spun away, totally weightless. The sensation was even more odd because _she_ wasn't weightless, her feet still planted firmly on the ground and not giving any hint as to leaving any time soon.

The physicist continued moving until she came to a small camcorder hovering over her desk, crystalline drops of water floating around it. She waved the liquid away, careful to avoid any electronics, and plucked the camera from the air, turning it over so she could see the screen; the small black square had a diagonal crack running through it, but lit up despite this when she flicked the power on.

"_The-the-the shape of the structure is similar to ancient Greek or Roman, but the writing looks more like Sanskrit…"_

Daniel's tinny voice emerged, filling the room and Carter pushed the small joystick right, speeding up the recording; she didn't know why, but she knew there was something important ant the end of the tape. Something that she had to figure out soon, or something bad would happen.

She stopped the video, playing it back at regular speeds as an eerie green glow lit it.

"_Something's happened to Daniel…" _A muffled rustling filled the small speaker and the screen turned a dark almost-black with tiny flecks of light here or there. A wet rushing sound came next, followed by barely audible yelling. More water, more hollering, then a sharp crack as light flooded the screen. A laugh, a groan, then the unmistakable sound of Zat discharge. Daniel groaning, Daniel saying something, another Zat, then nothing.

Sam watched, unable to process what had just happened, when the screen changed again, this time showing an image of Victoria. Her violet hair was dark and matted and there were angry brown splotches the major had come to recognize as bruises on her face, including one over her left eye that was nearly black and swollen almost shut. The girl's amethyst eyes bored into hers and her stomach clenched painfully.

"_Sam…help me…."_

The blonde watched in horror as the teen's eyes began to glow and the screen shut off, the rest of the lab disappearing as she was jerked awake.

* * *

><p>"Carter, wake up!" Jack yelled, shaking his 2IC's shoulder; he had found her face-down on her computer, twitching and crying out in her sleep, obviously in the throes of a nightmare.<p>

With a gasp she sat upright, blue-grey eyes wide and brow sweaty as she struggled to remember just where she was and what she was doing there.

"You alright?" the colonel asked, looking at her in concern.

Her gaze locked with his and everything came rushing back. "Yeah, sorry sir… I must've…"

"Fallen asleep?" he offered, curiously studying the outline of the keyboard imprinted on her cheek. It was strangely endearing.

She nodded, blinking away the last remains of sleep. "I had to dry out the camera before trying to get anything off of it;" the blonde gestured at a large bowl of white rice, "apparently the bag it was in wasn't closed when it went through that pool."

Jack raised a brow. "Rice, Carter?" She turned to him quizzically. "Kinda low tech for you, isn't it?"

Sam chuckled lightly. "Sometimes the simplest solutions work the best, sir. What time is it?"

The colonel checked his watch. "'bout… Oh-nine hundred."

"Ah, that explains the neck ache…" She massaged the offending body part, tilting her head to relieve the stiffness. "But that should be enough time for this…" The major went to reach for the bowl, only to have Jack grab her wrist.

"Just outta curiosity, Carter, when was the last time you ate anything?"

A meager meal of an apple and four granola bars flashed into her mind and she closed her eyes, willing the pain that came with them to ebb.

"Carter?"

Right, the colonel was still waiting for her answer.

"I, uh, I had some coffee when we got back-" O'Neill sighed, rolling his eyes.

"You're going to give this to Seiler or Harriman," he gestured at the bowl, "and then you're going to get some food and shut eye."

The blonde's eyes widened. "But sir, I—"

"That's an order, Carter." His lips pressed into a thin line. "You're no good to anyone half-dead."

Sam bit her lip, sighing before responding with a resigned 'yes, sir.'

Jack cringed inwardly, hating being the bad guy in the situation and tried to make light of it. "Come on, Carter. It's pancake day in the mess."

The major half-forced a smile, recognizing his attempts to lighten her mood. "Sorry, sir. I just feel…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He ran a hand through his graying hair, idly wondering just how grey he would be when they found their teenaged friend. "Good news, though; Daniel woke up."

"Really? That's great, how's he feeling?"

Jack shrugged, leaning back against a table. "He's got a couple busted ribs and some cracks in his sternum, but Doc Frasier says he should be fine. She gave him something to sleep when I left."

"Ah." Sam couldn't help her disappointment. "I'll visit him later, then."

"After you eat and get some sleep yourself, Major." He raised a brow, almost daring her to argue with him. "Now come on, I'm hungry."

A genuine smile tickled the edge of her lips and she stood, following him as he filled her in on everything Daniel had told him.

* * *

><p>"What's our status, captain?"<p>

"We're making good time, sir; we should be entering our solar system in about ten hours."

"ETA to Earth?"

"Around twelve."

"Captain?"

"Yes sir?"

He groaned at the younger man's apparent density.

"You just said that we would be in the solar system in ten hours."

"Yes sir."

"Why would it take another two to cross our own backyard?"

"Because we won't be using the hyperdrive once we get past Pluto."

"Why not?"

"Because there is a window of a few seconds between dropping out of hyperspace and when the cloaking device can engage."

"So…?"

"A year and a half ago NASA was able to pick up two much more advanced ships than this one entering the system; to avoid any detection, I've been instructed to drop out of hyperspace and use the cloaking device as soon as we get near."

"Sneaking in the back door?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Then I apologize."

"Don't worry about it, sir. It happens all the time."

Uneasy silence reigned for several minutes, stretching out until he clapped his hands together awkwardly, rubbing them together. "Well then…I guess I should go check on our guest…. Make sure she's properly medicated and such…."

"Of course, sir. I'll keep the helm."

He rose a brow at the odd terminology, but otherwise ignored it and went to the bulkhead, punching in the proper sequence before crossing into the ship's rear. There, in the hold, was their doctor, sleeping on one of the bunks they had dragged in at his whining. Across the room was their guest, looking exactly as she had when he had left her.

Green and unconscious.

Ignoring the scientist, he went to the teen, something in his gut twisting painfully as he surveyed her still form; he didn't know her name, he didn't know her age – both facts had been kept secret by his superiors to make it easier on them – but he could tell that she was young. The curve of her chest and the softness of her cheeks spoke to her youth and he could tell that she couldn't possibly be any older than his teenaged niece.

He closed his eyes hating himself not for the first time because of his job; the only difference was that this time the chain of command offered no solace because the harder he looked the harder it was to find any real justification that satisfied him.

But he had been a soldier longer then their guest had been on Earth and in all that time he had gotten real good at following orders with the confidence that those he carried out were done for the greater good. This normally comforting notion was now shaky, however, because he really couldn't see what this oddly coloured girl had done to warrant their attention. Then again, it wasn't his job to wonder, just to deliver her to the head honchos on earth alive and mostly well.

So, at least for now, he squelched down any remorse, trying in vain to seek the comfort in his rank that had always been in ready reach but now eluded him as he readied the next in the line of carefully prepared syringes.

It was his job to keep her under, after all.

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><p><strong>Coming next week:<br>**

**Chapter 14 Misfires**

**In which lines blur to near-invisibility and Wingnut makes his entrance.**


	14. Chapter 14: Misfire

**Hello there, sorry for the MAJOR delay in getting this chapter up; I'm in the north-east corridor of the US that got hit by that giant snowstorm a week ago. Power and internet have been hard to come by and a lot of places are just now getting juice back; as it is, my campus still looks like a tornado hit it.**

**Anywho, Here is the next chapter and, I promise, that 15 will be up on , as a special treat, it's over double the length of my usual chapters.**

**Thank you to my usual reviews, this one it for you!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14 Misfires<br>In which lines blur to near-invisibility and Wingnut makes his entrance.**

The sedatives were wearing off, thinning in places like threadbare cloth so sparse she could practically see reality through the holes. But the glimpses she was seeing weren't part of SG-1's reality; she could tell because they were part of her original one.

It was Jump City, the skyline as could only be seen from the Tower, and the teen took the chance to freak out at the realization, trying very very hard not to scream. She leaped to her feet, whipping her head back and forth, missing the familiar _swish_ of her chest-length hair, and ran to the mirror.

A short, pale, indigo-haired boy looked back with wide green eyes.

_**Rodger?**_

The door behind her lid open and she spun to face an equally pale though much taller boy with equally green eyes, a mop of emerald hair sculpted into…something atop his head, adding several inches to his height.

"Everything alright in here, bro?" Steven asked, arching a brow. "I thought I heard a crash…"

"E-everything's fine, Steve. I just fell while meditating…" Victoria responded quickly, startled to hear her little brother's voice form the words.

Her twin gave her a long, hard stare before dropping it. "Alright, Dodge. I'll let you get back to it, then." He smirked. "I know how cranky you get when you don't meditate long enough…"

The second their brother was gone, the changeling turned back to the bureau, ignoring the looking glass and instead riffling through the drawers in search of her baby brother's meditation mirror. She soon found the object and went to the bed, sitting down on it in case things got messy.

Once settled, Victoria placed her brother's palm on the glass and chanted the well-known mantra.

"_Avarath, Metrion, Zinthos."_

She felt her spirit leave the foreign body and she flew into the mirror, intent on finding answers.

* * *

><p>"Ooook, this is not what I had planned…" Rodger said, looking around the vast space. He wasn't really sure where he was, just that this was not where he had intended on being. Actually, he really didn't know where he <em>had<em> intended on being, but this void-thing definitely wasn't it.

He was looking for his sister, and after his mom had failed in bringing her back he had gone through all the spell books he could get his hands on. Several tomes in he had found this particular spell and, while it was written in a messy Celtic dialect, he had gotten enough to know the basics of it.

Or so he had thought.

Looking around at the utterly empty landscape, he had a feeling that he probably should have asked Rachel for help translating.

Something moved behind him and he spun to face its source, surprised to see a familiar black vortex opening in the air.

"Mom?" he called, not sure if he wanted it to be his mother; the last time she caught him trying out a spell without supervision he had been grounded for a month. The teen was understandably relieved when it was his oldest sister who came through.

"Ella!" Rodger cried, launching himself at the green sorceress the second she landed.

"Wingnut, what are you doing here?" she snapped, worry colouring her tone as she caught him in a tight hug.

"Where have you been? Everyone's been worried sick, especially Mom and Dad. They haven't left the island since you left and none of the grown-ups will tell us what happened," he replied, pulling back from his sister's embrace.

"That doesn't answer my question, Rodger," she responded crisply and he shied at the use of his first name; Victoria rarely used his first name, save for when she was mad at him.

"I was trying to do a tracer spell on our link," the thirteen-year-old muttered and his sister bit back a curse.

"A tracer spell? By yourself? You could have gotten into serious trouble, what were you thinking?"

"But I got it to work! We're in your mind, aren't we?" Victoria groaned, rubbing a temple to ward off the oncoming headache; the munchkin had a point.

"Yes, we are in my mind, but you didn't compensate for the force of my magic when you cast the spell; instead of just finding me, you switched our bodies. The only reason I was able to find you is because I went through your meditation mirror."

The boy paled as the ramifications of his actions sunk in and the changeling's heart softened as guilt set in.

"I'm sorry for snapping, Wingnut, I was just a little freaked out." She pulled him into a hug, ruffling his slightly darker hair. "I didn't expect to suddenly wake up in your room with Steven breaking down the door."

"You never answered my question, Elle…" he said as he tried to extract himself; his sister raised a brow in confusion. "Where have you been for the past few weeks? Mom and Dad haven't been talking to anyone and the uncles have been spending every spare minute in the computer lab with a bunch of broken pieces of something."

"Well…um… you remember how Uncle Dick finally got Mom to let me on a mission?" The boy nodded. "I got shot with some sort of ray-gun and got sent to a different reality."

"You mean like Larry's from?" The girl snickered at the thought of the hyperactive doppelganger and how SG-1 would react had he ended up with them.

"Sorta; you see, there are an infinite number of alternate realities, each stemming from decisions people make. Supposedly." God, she was starting to sound like Sam… Wait a sec… "Did you say a few _weeks_, Wingnut?"

The bluenet nodded. "Yeah, it's been, like, six weeks since you didn't come back. I was worried…"

Victoria gathered her brother in another hug, trying to process this new bit of information; time didn't flow at the same rate in different universes, a fact that actually made some sense if all things were relative.

"So did Mom manage to find you three days ago or was she trying to suck someone else out of their…dimension?"

"No, Mom found me," she replied, mouth twisting. "She mixed a tracer and a possessor together and was apparently trying to puppet me back. Someone on my side just managed to shake me out of it before she could finish Arella's spell."

Rodger's eyes widened to saucers. "She was using Arella's spell? How?"

"She probably had everything set up here and was channeling the magic through a few other people to boot. Did Steve help her?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, but he wasn't happy about it."

"Surprise, surprise," the changeling muttered, rolling her eyes; she had never gotten along with her twin and he was probably the least effected by her absence.

"Hey Ella?" She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to her sibling.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ever going to come home?"

His entrancing green eyes caught her own violet ones and she was astounded at her brother's perceptiveness; he hadn't asked if she would _be able_ to get home and had subtly left it as a choice that was within her power. Then again, he was a much stronger empath than either her or their mother, so his tuning into to her moods probably shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"I…I really don't know, Wingnut…" Had someone asked her the day before, she would have said hell no, but here and now, looking into her closest sibling's eyes, it was a suddenly a much harder choice. "The people who found me there… they've taken me in. Made me part of their family…"

"They trust you." The simplicity of his words stung her, but it was true; a large part of it boiled down to the fact that SG-1 trusted her in a way that no-one but the boy in front of her ever had.

"Yeah… Yeah, they do."

Rodger turned away and she could hear a faint sniffling that made her want to cry herself.

"Oh, Wingnut…. Come here…" Again, she wrapped her arms around her baby brother, wanting desperately to shield him from her own selfishness.

"I-I don't blame you, Ella…really I don't…" He sniffed loudly, dragging a forearm across his nose. "If I were in your place, I'd probably want to stay, too…"

"Thank you for that, Wing…" She buried her face in his thick midnight hair, trying to hold back her own tears; she was the big sister, damnit, she was supposed to be the strong one.

They stayed like that for a long while until their eyes had dried somewhat and the green teen turned her brother to face her.

"Tell you what, Wingnut; since you already strengthened our bond to the point where we can have this conversation, I'll add some to it so you can call if you ever need me."

His luminous green eyes grew to the size of dinner plates at her offer. "Really?"

She smiled."I wouldn't offer if I wasn't willing to do it."

"Thank you, Ella." Again, the thirteen-year-old jumped on her, hugging her tightly.

"Now, you have to do exactly what I say or this could turn out very badly. Got it?"

Rodger nodded and the two sat, legs folded and knees touching as the sorceress began issuing instructions. "Stop me if this is familiar, but first you have to clear your mind…"

* * *

><p>"This feels really weird," Wingnut said when they were finally done with the spell.<p>

Victoria grinned at his bluntness, wiping sweat off her brow as she took deep steadying breaths; strengthening such a weak bond to the point of easy communication took a _lot_ of juice, and because her raw magic was stronger than her brother's, she had offered the lion's share, taking the brunt of the drainage.

"Well, now you should be able to reach me whenever you want, you'll just have to meditate." He shot her a quizzical look and she answered the unasked question. "I didn't strengthen it to the point of unconscious communication because then we'd have a hard time keeping each other _out_ of our heads."

The boy's mouth formed an 'o' as the logic settled on him and he nodded his agreement.

"Hey, V?"

"Yeah?"

"How come I didn't end up in control of your body like you did in mine?"

"Hmm…." The girl scratched her head, thinking; the most probable reason was the fact that she was in a drug-induced state of unconsciousness, but she really wasn't about to tell her baby brother that. "I was meditating and am probably in a deeper state than you're used to…"

Rodger gave her a scrutinizing look, sensing the split-second of unease, but accepted the answer.

"We should probably get going soon; I can't tell how long it's been and there are people who'll be missing us…" Victoria said, really disliking her role as responsible older sibling.

"Before we go…" her brother muttered, kicking the non-existent ground. "Could you…sing for me?"

The sorceress smiled at his uncharacteristic bashfulness. "Sure thing, Wingnut. Any requests?"

A soft melody filled the emptiness and the girl's smile turned sad; she might have known that this would be his choice…

She waited for the music to begin again and came in, her soft voice slightly off pitch from months without real practice.

"_It started out as a feeling; Which then grew into a hope; Which then turned into a quiet thought; Which then turned into a quiet word. And then that word grew louder and louder, 'til it was a battle cry; I'll come back, when you call me, no need to say good-bye…"_

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><p><strong>Coming in two days:<strong>

**Chapter 15 Conversations**

**In which startling things are learned, new facts come to light, and the title should be self-evident.**

****PS. And, just a note, the song at the end is _The Call_ by Regina Spektor. I don't own that in anything other than CD.  
><strong>**


	15. Chapter 15: Conversations

**Ladies and gentlemen of the court, I am proud to present chapter 15 of _Ties That Bind_. This chapter is over twice the length of my usual chapters and because of this, as well as recent events in my life, I regretfully inform you that I have to skip a week in terms of updates.**

**Thank you to the usual suspects and I hope you can forgive the erratic updates as of late.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15 Conversations<br>In which startling things are learned, new facts come to light, and the title should be self-evident.**

Daniel was back in the empty void, again alone, again in his ever-present BDUs. He was less surprised this time, still wondering just where this was, exactly, but not really worried by the fact that he was. The purple monkey wasn't there this time, not that it really startled him, but he would have liked someone to, well, talk to, even if it was an abnormally coloured plush toy. The archeologist sat, getting ready for the long haul, only to stand back up almost immediately.

He could hear someone singing.

"Hello?" His voice echoed in the abyss unanswered, but the soft melody continued, unaffected.

Not really sure what to do, he began to run, hoping that it was the right direction and hoping that he would figure out a plan of action by the time he reached the singer, if he reached the singer.

v

The last note rang out too soon for the siblings and, when it did, Victoria opened a portal for her brother, trying really really hard not to cry as he walked through, glancing over his shoulder one last time as the vortex closed. Once the black magic faded, the sorceress let her tears flow, her knees giving out and sending her to the floor where she wound her arms around herself in a frail attempt to keep the darkness out of her own head.

Part of her was really starting to question the logic of her decision. Not that she would _ever_ leave her little brother in her body while it was god knows where with god knows who, she would throw herself off the Tower first, but staying in a universe where she was the only person with any sort of power had its drawbacks, the primary of which being, what she supposed was, the motivation behind her current situation.

Rarity.

She wasn't naive enough to believe that her friends at the SGC could protect her forever (she had heard about Teal'c's first few weeks on Earth); the fact was, no matter what they had said, there would always be someone who wanted her for study.

_Magnificent…_

Victoria shuddered, tightening her grip on her legs in an attempt to stave of the ice spreading from the pit of her stomach.

Yet, despite the consequences, as SG-1's faces flashed before her eyes, the teen couldn't bring herself to regret her decision. As Wingnut said, they cared for her, they _trusted_ her, and that drove the cold away. That made everything worth it.

Fractionally comforted, she smiled sadly, closing her eyes as a song older then her spilled from her lips.

"_Please, please forgive me; but I won't be home again…"_

v

For a minute or two the singing had stopped and Daniel started to get worried; he had run into walls in this strange place and, without the lone sound to guide him, he feared he would be trapped in this invisible labyrinth forever.

"Hello?" he cried, hoping that this time the singer would hear him and, well, he wasn't sure how they would find their way any better than he had, but contact was a start.

He was surprised when he actually got an answer.

v

Victoria's eyes shot open as a familiar voice broke her concentration.

"Daniel?" She shot to her feet, thoughts racing; what the hell was he doing in her mind? Was he even in her mind? Where the hell was he?

She rose from the ground, flying towards where she thought she had heard him.

"Daniel, keep talking!"

v

"Daniel?"

Victoria's familiar voice echoed in the small space, muffled by some unseen force.

"Daniel, keep talking!"

"Victoria, I'm over here!" Not that he knew where 'here' _was_, but two heads in the same place were significantly better than one.

v

She turned towards the archeologist's voice, putting as much juice as she dared into her speed; the drain from her and Rodger's spell still tugged at her.

"I can't see you! Where are—oof!" The teen's question was cut off as she ran headlong into an invisible wall, sending her tumbling backwards painfully.

v

A thud to his right told Daniel that he hadn't just imagined the walls and he went to it, pushing as hard as he could.

"Are you alright?" he called through the unseen barrier.

A muffled curse was his answer and he couldn't help but smile; she was fine.

"I don't think I broke anything, if that's your criteria," the teen replied, her voice shifting as he supposed she stood.

"Do you know where we are, V?"

v

Ah, there was an interesting question, one that she wasn't really sure she knew the answer to anymore.

"Gimmie a sec…" she bit out, placing a hand to the wall and sending out her magic to try and figure out just what stood between them; the waves went on and on, not hitting anything and not finding any edges or corners.

She growled in frustration and withdrew all her power, hissing as it snapped back like a rubber band; she was reaching her limits, she'd have to rest soon.

"Daniel, move away from the wall. As far as you can." Might as well use what she had left to get some company.

v

At first the order confused him, until he heard the changeling's soft chanting from beyond the barrier. He then decided that it would be a very good thing to heed her warning and walked backwards until he felt another wall at his back.

The brunet had just enough time to throw his arms up as the wall in front of him exploded.

v

Victoria's knees buckled as she stumbled forward, waving away dust from her violent entry.

"Daniel?" she called, trying not to cough. "Are you ok?"

She caught sight of him huddled against a far wall just before she lost consciousness.

v

Daniel lowered his arms cautiously, glancing around over them as the teen said his name. He saw her visibly shaking, though from what he couldn't tell, as she caught his eye.

She then passed out, keeling forward in a very familiar manner. The archeologist blinked, stunned for a moment, before rushing forward to check on the teen.

"Victoria?" He turned her over, wincing and gently brushing away some bits of… something stuck into her cheek. She remained unresponsive and he frowned, worry creeping up. Eager for some sign of life, he tapped her a few times, earning him a groan and a deck from a mostly-unconscious teen; the force of the blow sent him backwards and he held his own cheek as the changeling began to wake up.

v

_**I passed out again, didn't I? Wait, how did I pass out if I'm already unconscious? And why does my hand hurt?**_

Victoria labouriously opened her eyes, groaning as the migraine she associated with magic-strain began pounding at her skull. She looked around, trying to gather all the information from her surroundings and link it with her own memories of what happened before she passed out (so to speak).

A groaning Daniel several feet away and a large hole in the previously invisible wall brought everything back in a crushing wave, worsening her headache and stirring a sickening sense of guilt in her gut.

"Daniel, are you okay?" she asked, sitting up slowly and rubbing her head.

"Yeah… I think so…" He sat up as well, rubbing his jaw and working it gently. "Does that happen every time someone tries to wake you up or is it just me?" Humour tinted the words and the teen chuckled apologetically.

"It's not just you, I promise. Last time Jack woke me up a nailed him with a paperweight."

Mention of the colonel sparked the archeologist's memory of their last conversation.

"You're alright!" Daniel cried, jumping to his feet and helping the teen to hers.

She raised a brow, giving him the 'you're-totally-not-crazy-really' look. "For the most part, yeah… aside from the whole kidnapped-and-unconscious thing."

It was the brunet's turn to raise a brow. "What?"

"Unless I'm very much mistaken," the changeling said, "Right now we are both unconscious and in different places. Did Jack, Sam and Teal'c get you home?"

"Wha… Yeah. Yeah I'm in the, uh, the infirmary." His head felt like it was splitting open trying to wrap around the concept and his chest began to ache in a metaphysical manifestation of his wounds. "Just out of curiosity…" he asked through gritted teeth, holding his side, "where are we…now. Where is 'here'?" Daniel waved his arms, gesturing to their surroundings.

"I'm not really sure," Victoria replied, biting her lip. "I think it's the subconscious, but I really don't know how you're here."

"What do you mean…?"

"Ok, I'm here," she motioned to the air, "because I have telepathic powers and can access this level when I meditate."

"Are you meditating now?"

"No, I'm unconscious."

Daniel rocked back on his heels, trying to figure their situation out. "Is it possibly that I'm here because we're both unconscious at the same time and you just… I don't know, called me…here…" The purple orangutan came to mind and he trailed off, vaguely aware of the teen talking.

"I didn't call you, though. I wouldn't even know how to, really; I don't know where I am so I wouldn't know how to find you in relation to me." He didn't respond, lost in thought. "Daniel? Daniel are you alright?"

"Your monkey…" he muttered, saying it as though it explained everything.

Victoria shot him a look that clearly expressed her concern for his mental health. "Excuse me?"

"Your, your, your monkey. The purple one that Sam and Janet got you after your staff wound finally healed."

She raised a brow. "Oppenheimer? What about him?"

"It talked to me…"

The teen blinked slowly. "Daniel…Oppenheimer is a purple stuffed orangutan, technically not a monkey, but I'll let that slide. He can't talk."

"No no no, I know that. It didn't actually speak to me, well it did, but it was in here," he explained, waiving his hands in reference to the vast blackness that engulfed them, the destroyed wall now stretched to encircle them. "It said to be ready, that _she_, I assume you, was coming and that you wouldn't have much time and that I would have to be ready for you."

"That's impossible," Victoria replied.

Daniel raised a brow at her. "And you're from what dimension, again?"

"Alright, alright, fair point. But seriously, the plushie talking is impossible unless it's possessed and the wards around my room prevent that." She ignored his look of disbelief as she continued to think it through. "It is possible, however, for a third party to enter your mind and appear to you as my orangutan. It's weird, put technically possible, which just leaves the question of _who_?"

"Does anyone from your reality have that kind of ability?"

The teen ground her teeth for a moment, screwing her face up in a scowl. "Rachel never got mother's psychic abilities, so she's out… My mother and brothers can, though…"

Daniel struggled to keep his brows from raising; Victoria had mentioned that she had siblings, but he didn't know she was one of four.

"Five, actually, but the only people who have mental abilities are mother, Steven and Rodger… It wasn't Wingnut…Rodger," she explained at the confused look she was getting, "Steve probably doesn't care enough to try and help me…" Again, the brunet was dumbfounded both by the new information and by the callousness that she referred to her family. "And I'd bet money that mother hasn't found me again, let alone you."

New questions flared to life in Daniel's mind, all of them revolving around _why_ there was such an undertone of distaste in the teen's words when she talked about her family, however he recognized that there were more important things to worry about now.

"Just so I understand this, there are three other people who could, conceivably, appear in my head as… Oppenheimer?"

Victoria nodded, biting a lip. "Yeah, but to do it as easily as you said, they would have to know who you were. They'd need…jeeze, how do I describe this…? To find someone easily you need a marker of some sort, either that or some sort of pre-existing bond. Everyone has their own mental signature, so that wouldn't be hard to use as a marker, but to find it you would need to know what to look for."

The archeologist stared, trying to make sense of the explanation and the teen chuckled. "Think of it like a street sign; if you know the name of the street and where it is generally, then you can find a house on it. If you're new to an area it's all a guessing game and you have to wander around looking for the right one."

"So…? What, it's just a, a coincidence that your stuffed animal told me someone was coming and then we both… appear here?"

"Daniel, I'm just as confused as you are here…" Victoria groaned, rubbing her temples tiredly. "All I know is that, right now, we are both unconscious – not asleep – and that I am very far from home with some rather scary people."

Sickening guilt punched the brunet in the stomach; in his curiosity about their current…location, he had completely forgotten about the teen's very real – very likely – danger.

"You're right, you're right. Um… do you know where you are?"

She shook her head. "It's not P3X-484, I know that, but other than that I have no idea.

He raised a brow. "How can you tell?"

"Even though I'm out cold, my sense of smell works because it's passive," Victoria explained. "Wherever my body is right now is way drier with absolutely no vegetation and has only a few people; three or four at the most, but they're almost definitely human."

"Do you remember anything after the temple?"

The changeling squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think. "I nearly woke up once… I kind of remember… it's in flashes and all half-formed…" She froze, her skin lightening several shades to a sickly-looking mint.

"Oh god… I think I killed someone…"

Without warning, the teen turned, retching horribly and Daniel was left speechless. He was mostly acclimatized to violence (spending over three years working for the Air Force does that) even if he disliked it, but he couldn't really imagine how the changeling was feeling. True, the first time he had killed someone he had had trouble dealing with it, but he was an adult and it was to save his friends from execution.

Victoria was a teenager, a _child_ in so many ways, and she had been brought up in a subculture that was so virulently against killing that, to her, it must have been…

He couldn't find the words so he just gathered the green girl in his arms and gave what physical comfort he could.

v

"Victoria, Victoria look at me." Daniel was talking, gripping her shoulders as he had after her nightmare so long ago and saying words that sounded muffled and distant.

She wasn't sure she had killed someone, she probably hadn't, but there was a revolting feeling in the bottommost parts of her stomach that _something_ had happened in those brief instants where the only clear thought was the coldly calculating _magnificent_ that punched through the haze like a train.

"Victoria, look at me. Look into my eyes."

She obeyed, unable to do much else as the storm within her threatened to tear her to bits and fountains of tears welled in her eyes.

"You are not a murderer, you hear me. You are not an evil person, or a villain, or any of those things." How did he know? How could he tell everything going through her head when she was the mind-reader in the room? "You are a teenage girl who was trying to defend herself against older, more experienced men."

But she didn't kill, _they_ didn't kill. It was the bold red-

"What exactly happened that makes you think you killed someone?"

The changeling drew herself back in, gathering the pieces as best she could and trying to formulate an answer.

"I…My powers where going haywire, moving stuff and acting almost like they had a mind of their own…" More tears welled in her eyes as she recalled the event. "There were men yelling, trying to do something to me…"

Voices began to echo in the black, foreign and reverberating eerily.

"_Fuck! Get back!"_

"_Shit…Is she awake?"_

"_We need to up the dosage."_

"There was crashing… heavy things flying and I couldn't control them and it was my powers moving them but _I couldn't control them_."

"_That could kill her!"_

"_She almost killed us!"_

"_Holy crap, duck!"_

"_I can't get close enough!"_

"_Gimmie that, I'll do it!"_

"_Look what she did to the wall!"_

Tears were flowing freely now and her eyes were wide and haunted. "There was a sound…" An appalling squish resonated in the space. "I don't know what it was but it was so _loud_ and so _close_."

The squelch grew louder and louder as it repeated in an endless loop, driving the teen further down until Daniel was the only thing keeping her up.

"Victoria!"

The horrible echo ceased, leaving just an unnatural silence broken only by the changeling's shaking breaths.

"Victoria, listen to me; you are not a killer. If, and it's a pretty big if, someone did die, then it is not your fault." Daniel's voice was calm and warm and measured in such a way that she calmed almost despite herself. "You're only a kid, and you were surrounded by men older and more experienced than you. You had every right to defend yourself, and I'm glad you did."

She looked up at him, lost violet orbs boarding into steel blue and she suddenly launched herself at him, grabbing him around the middle in a hug that left him groaning.

The teen pulled back like he was on fire. "Ohmygosh, I'm sorry."

"No, no no no no, it's fine. I just, uh…" he motioned to his chest. "I have some broken ribs from… you saving my life."

Victoria's colour came back in a rush, passing her normal colour and heading straight towards a blush, and she scratched the back of her head. "It was…nothing…really…" She held out a hand, placing it on his chest and he raised a brow in question. "I don't know how much good this will do, but it can't hurt."

The appendage glowed white and relief spread over the archeologist's torso as she healed this internal wounds.

Just as she finished, her image began to fade, slipping into Daniel's stomach as her hand lost its integrity.

"Victoria?" he asked, wondering if this was intentional.

"That's new…" she replied breathlessly, her eyes the size of saucers. Abruptly, she doubled over, crying out his name in pain before being sucked out through an unseen hole at the small of her back.

It was not unlike the visions of Sha're he had had half a year before and the painful reminder coupled with the traumatic exit sent his mind reeling, the dark expanse fading from his vision until he knew nothing at all.

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><p><strong>Coming November 21:<strong>

**Chapter 16 Pardon? **

**In which people are confused, government people are jerks and weird shit goes down in space.**


	16. Chapter 16: Pardon?

**Honey, I'm HOOOME! I'm back, with chapter 16 of Ties That Bind and pounding my head against my keyboard to get both the next chap I'm working on and a paper for a class in due course.**

**Thanks to the three of mu usuals who reviewed, I love you dears, and try not to hate General Hammond (or me) after this chapter.**

**Side-note, while procrastinating for various things, I have begun to draw the family picture depicted in the Epilogue of INEBG. If anyone wants to see it/knows a good digital colour artist, drop me a line, 'cause it's still in pencil at this point, but it would be awesome if it got all the way to colour.**

**Anywho, hope you enjoy this chap, and ESPECIALLY for this one I'm looking for feedback, so please just take a minute or two to say what you liked or didn't. **

**Thanks.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16 Pardon?<br>In which people are confused, government people are jerks and weird shit goes down in space.**

Janet pursed her lips slightly as she took down Daniel's vitals, pleased to see that they had improved. Then again, most people benefitted from nearly twenty-four hours of sleep.

Of course, that last fact did have her a touch worried; she couldn't actually tell _why_ he had slept for so long. The amount of sedative that she had given him should have worn off in under four hours and she had instructed the staff not to give him anymore, just painkillers.

She continued to muse on this until the archeologist in question woke a few minutes later.

"Ah, nice to see you've finally decided to join us, Daniel," the doctor said with a smile. "You had us worried there."

He didn't respond and she looked at him more closely, noticing the stricken look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to talk to Jack…" he replied, sitting up carefully. "Sam, too…"

"What's wrong?" Janet asked again, becoming worried.

He leaned to the side experimentally before giving an answer. "A couple of things…"

v

His chest didn't hurt.

That's the first thing Daniel noticed when he woke up, jarred into consciousness by Victoria's abrupt exit. His chest didn't hurt _at all_ and he couldn't feel anything moving unnaturally as he could when he had woken before.

The fact that his chest no longer throbbed shook him up more than he would have liked to admit, but it also gave him some hope; first he wasn't crazy. At least, not completely because he had, in fact had some sort of contact with Victoria.

Second, Victoria was alright, for the moment at least, and this comforted him. What didn't was her obvious state of distress, mental and physical.

He needed to talk to Jack and Sam. Needed to find out what had happened while he was asleep and he needed to get to work finding Victoria as quickly as possible.

v

"How are we doing?"

"Very well, sir. The cloaking mechanism is operating at anticipated capacity; if all goes well, we should get to Earth on schedule, if not before."

He nodded, taking the information in. "Just remember, we don't want any unplanned contact with anything or anyone."

"Of course, sir."

The electronic beeping of the bulkhead reached them and Isaacs appeared, looking disheveled but excited.

The excited worried him.

"It's incredible," the doctor said, eyes wide and nearly crazed while the rest of his body stayed composed. "She's floating several inches above the gurney, as far as the restraints will allow, and small white sparks were flying off her fingers."

His raised a brow. "White?"

Isaacs nodded, grinning. "Yes, I'm certain they were white. It's totally different from the black energy she was emitting back at base."

He pondered this, the ramifications of it; Frasier's file had said something about a healing ability, that the girl had lowered herself into a healing trance or something when she got hurt. This could mean she was trying to get the sedatives out of her system.

"Increase her dosage."

The doctor turned to him, shocked. "What?"

"I said increase her dosage."

"Colonel, increasing her sedatives could drive her deeper into unconsciousness, deep enough maybe that she wouldn't be able to come out and her respiratory system would begin to shut down. If that happens before we reach Earth, then this whole expedition will have been for nothing because we won't be able to study her functions."

"Doctor," he ground out, irritated at the man's blindness. "You read Frasier's file on her. Correct?" The shorter man nodded. "Then you should know that, if she's floating, she's trying to heal. Think for a second; what if she can flush the drugs out of her system? Then she would wake up and what happened at base could happen here, with the exception that, if something goes through a wall here, we all die. You see the dilemma?"

The lines around Isaacs's mouth tightened, betraying his displeasure.

"So, to prevent the possibility of that, you're going to go give her another sedative, right doctor?"

Without a word, the shorter turned and walked back into the cargo space, his malice practically palpable.

v

Victoria looked around the space she was in in panic; something had happened to suck her out of the shared space she had been in with Daniel and she could not figure out what; it could have been the strain of healing him, but that wouldn't have caused the intangibility. It could have been that _he_ was the intangible one and it was caused by him waking up, but that didn't make sense either; she had felt the bond breaking on her side more than his, her own connection fraying like over-used twine.

The wall was back, its former cracks running like spider webs over its surface in a glistening silvery expanse. She ran to it, pounding on the barrier until her fists were bloody and screaming.

"Daniel! Daniel, can you hear me? Please, answer me! ANSWER ME!" Tears pooled in her eyes as fear flooded back. "Daniel, please! Tell me you're there! Tell me you're still there! Tell me you're there and I'm not alone!"

Her cries eventually quelled but the tears ran freely as she ultimately stopped, the slender bones of her hands shattered from the force of her blows. She slid into a huddle at the wall's base, terror of both the known and the unknown hunting her as she cradled her broken appendages, her tears stinging the open wounds as they slowly closed.

v

Isaacs frowned as he readied the next syringe, fully intending to only give her half the dose, when he nearly dropped the device.

There were cuts on her hands.

The green skin that had been immaculate just moments before when he left was now covered in dark splotches and deep abrasions; the bones beneath looked little better, some very obviously broken and bent at unnatural angles.

It looked like she had gone ten rounds with a brick wall and lost, but the restraints were still intact, the leather straps snug around her wrists just as they had been when he left.

As he watched, a pale glow erupted along the wounds, first pulling the bones back together in an excruciatingly slow manner, then the shreds of skin.

As he watched, a cold smile split his face, even as she stitched herself back together.

It was _magnificent_.

v

"So far, sir, we haven't been about to get much out of the video. At least nothing Daniel hasn't told the Colonel already," Major Carter explained, the folder containing her report in her interlaced hands as she stood before General Hammond's desk.

"We haven't been about to get anything outta SG's 3 or 8, either, sir," O'Neill added. "No-one saw anything unusual around the 'Gate or the ruins…" His tone implied contrary feelings.

"But…?" the general prompted.

"Something stinks here, sir," Jack snapped. "Whoever's behind couldn't have done it without inside help; it was too clean for that."

"I understand your feelings, Colonel, I really do, but until we get more evidence, there's nothing I can do. SG's 3 and 8 will be placed back on active duty tomorrow."

"Sir?" Sam gasped, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, Major, but I'm getting pressure from my superiors to resume normal operations."

"What about SG-1?' the colonel asked.

Hammond sighed. "For now, you are technically on leave because of Dr. Jackson's condition. Until he is released by Dr. Frasier, you can do whatever you want, within reason."

"So, what, that's it?" Daniel's words from the day before came out before Jack could stop them.

"Jack, the Pentagon is questioning why there was a teenager on base to begin with; they see any more devotion of time or resources to locating her as superfluous."

Something clicked in Carter's mind and she frowned. "You didn't tell them about her abilities, did you, sir?"

Again, the general sighed. "Given what happened the last time a…unique individual became a member of this base, I thought it best that some of her talents be underplayed in my report. In hindsight, it may not have been the wisest decision…" Hammond planted his elbows in the desk, running his hands over his head tiredly.

"Major, Colonel, I know how you feel, truly I do, however I cannot authorize the use of anymore base resources to finding Victoria at this time. If you give me something I can work with by the time Dr. Jackson is released from the infirmary, then I will gladly do so."

The two field officers stood silent, biting back retorts and lips as they struggled to quell their emotions.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door and a rather harried-looking Dr. Frasier rushing in.

"Dr. Jackson's awake, sirs. And he's asking for Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter."

v

The changeling wasn't sure how long she sat there before her tears dried and she simply sat, contemplating her situation.

Something had happened and she was alone. Whoop-di-do. Crying wasn't solving anything and she could practically hear her uncle in her head, telling her to get up. Bruce was there, too, but he didn't speak. He never had to.

The pale blue eyes seemed to appear in the darkness and her fists clenched painfully, tearing some of the fresh skin anew.

Anger coiled in the pit of her stomach and her forehead burned as a second pair of eyes ripped their way open. Everything sharpened, everything heightened and soon she was standing once more, pounding at the wall with bloody fists and magic filling every punch.

v

As Isaacs watched the girl, the cuts began to re-open, tearing as her fists clenched and he took a half step back in surprise; she shouldn't be able to do that.

Her eyes snapped open, glowing a hellish red, and, in a panic, he shoved the needle into her, not taking note of the dosage. With a roar, she lifted her left arm, snapping the thick leather like a rubber band and pointing the hand at him; the doctor flew back with a yell, crashing into the cots loudly before he could inject her.

"What are you doing back there, Isaacs?" Heine yelled from the fore and the teen's head whipped to follow.

Her emerald lips drew back in a snarl and she yanked at the chest strap, tearing it off and sitting up.

"She's waking up!" Isaacs finally found his voice, yelling from beneath the cot.

The girl roared at this as the door opened and Heine charged through, whipping out a Zat as he did so; she threw out a hand, a band of magic lashing around him and lifting him off the floor, sending him into the wall adjacent Isaacs. The gun skittered across the floor out of his reach.

The captain piloting yelled and another tendril of energy snaked through the doors, tearing him from his chair and dragging him into the cargo room.

"Where are we?" the prisoner demanded, her voice strange and distorted; suddenly some of Heine's sympathy for her vanished.

The youngest man babbled, his eyes wide and frightened as he tried to comprehend what was going on.

"Answer, or I shall take the knowledge from you!" she screamed, frustrated by his silence. The poor man's eyes rolled back and he went limp in a dead faint. With another snarl, the teen's right hand came up, pressing against the man's forehead and starting to glow.

Without warning, a giant crash sounded and the entire ship lurched to one side, almost seeming to spin; the green one's concentration was broken and she dropped the pilot, looking wildly around for an answer.

Seeing her distraction, Isaacs lunged for the Zat, grabbing it and shooting the teen.

She wilted some, the red glow dimming, but didn't pass out, instead snarling at him.

Heine took the opportunity to jump at her, depressing the plunger of the syringe imbedded in her side. He flew back moments later, grunting as he slammed into the wall once more.

"You all shall pay for hurting this child, humans," the green teenager snarled, her words confusing them. "All of you…"

Within moments the sedative took effect and she slumped forward

* * *

><p><strong>Coming Next Week:<strong>

**Chapter 17 Pardon II: Even More Confusing**

**In which there is yelling, weird science, fast flying, shadowy people talking and a rather depressing cliff-hanger.**


	17. Chapter 17: Pardon II: More Confusing

**Sooooo, I woke up this morning (not feeling like P-Diddy, FYI) and my first thought was 'OMG, four hours of sleep is NOT enough but I'm so damn happy it's Thursday 'cause I can sleep in tomorrow and two of my three huge papers for the week are done and finished and I can breathe after I take the flippin' test I actually studied for.'**

**My second though was 'HOLY CRAP IT'S THURSDAY AND I HAVEN'T UPDATED TTB!' (Seriously)**

**So, my deepest apologies to all you lovely nerds and I want everyone to welcome **Wilberg** to our odd little family; they faved and alerted both this and INEBG in one day and I'm glad to have them (gender neutral intentional).**

**Also, **GallifreyanGhostGirl**, I would love for you to take a look at the pic, I just have to clean it up and get my piece of crap scanner to work XD.**

**Just a heads up, depending on my level of work/sanity, might not get Chapter 18 out by Monday, but by golly I'll try! **

**Now, without further ado, Chapter 17…**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17 Pardon II: Even More Confusing<br>In which there is yelling, weird science, fast flying, shadowy people talking and a rather depressing cliff-hanger.**

The second the green figure went still, Heine sprang forward to check on the captain; the younger man was breathing and seemed to be mostly unharmed. He would have a hell of a goose-egg when he woke up, though.

"What the hell was that?" Isaacs yelled, visibly shaken as he tossed the gun away.

Heine raised a brow and looked at him. "What was what? The teenager who nearly destroyed the ship or the crash that stopped her?"

"The crash." The girl didn't faze him; he knew how she worked well enough that the outburst didn't scare him (too much). It was the unknown that scared him.

The colonel rolled his eyes and headed for the control panel at the fore, the doctor scrambling to follow him. A few beeps and confusing alien symbols later and he was pretty sure of the answer. "I won't be sure until the captain wakes up, but I think something hit us."

"You _think_ something _hit us_?"

"It was probably an asteroid or comet or something, nothing to worry about."

"_Nothing to worry about?_" It might have been the fact that he had just seen his life (and his potential work) flash before his eyes, but Isaacs was a bit on edge.

"The hull wasn't breached; we have no leaks of any sort. Everything's fine, doc. Why don't you go check on the captain?"

Still shaken, and irritated at being ordered around, Isaacs went back to the cargo area to check on the youngest man.

v

When the military half of SG-1 entered the infirmary with Dr. Frasier, they were very surprised to find Daniel awake and arguing with a red-headed doctor.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson, but I can't let you up yet."

"You don't understand; my ribs aren't broken, they're tender, but none of them are broken anymore."

She scoffed; "That's impossible, your x-rays from two days ago clearly show-"

"I'll take it from here, Patricia," Janet cut in, seeing how frustrated her colleague was getting; the taller woman pursed her lips and handed over the clipboard, leveling a glare at the archeologist as she left.

Daniel squintingly glared back, eyes following her until she left the room. As soon as she was gone he rubbed his temples wearily, before greeting his friends with a tired smile.

"Hi, guys."

Jack raised a brow at the geek, startled at his uncharacteristic hostility. "Hey, Daniel. Janet said you wanted to see us."

"Yeah, I did… Can I get my glasses, first?" the brunet asked. "Dr. Turner said that you, uh… took them off yesterday after I fell asleep."

"Here." The colonel swiped the spectacles off the table at the end of the bed, handing them to the younger man. Daniel put them on, blinking several times to focus before thanking him.

"So what's this you're saying about your ribs not being broken?" Jack queried. "Doc Frasier told me yesterday that they were busted pretty bad."

"They were." Janet took several sheets of cellulose off the table, sticking a few up on the lightbox over the bed. "These," she pointed, "were taken two days ago when you first brought Daniel back from P3X-484."

Sam winced as Jack breathed "jeeze…" at the sight of the x-rays; the breaks in the bones were very clear, as were the various cracks and fractures. One of the ribs even appeared to be floating in space, the part of the sternum it attached to broken completely off.

"This one," Janet stuck another one up. "Was taken less than an hour ago."

The difference was striking; not one clean break remained in the ribs, the only remnants being a few minor fractures where they had been.

"That's impossible," Sam said immediately, blinking several times.

Dr. Frasier just shook her head. "That's what I said, but it's real." Another set went up, the same as the second. "I took these myself just before I got you and they're the same."

"And as I've tried telling you, I can explain how they healed, for the most part," Daniel cut in exasperatedly. "While I was unconscious, Victoria contacted me somehow. We talked and she used her healing abilities on me while we were on that… mental plane. The repairs must have been reflected in my physical body."

The three surrounding him exchanged looks roughly equivalent to 'just how much medication is he on?' and the archeologist groaned in frustration.

"No, I am not crazy," he bit out.

"It's not that we think you're crazy, Daniel," Jack said, rocking back on his heels. "It's just…" he trailed off and the younger man grunted.

"Can I just remind everybody that the last time you thought I was insane, most of you nearly died?" Sam and Janet looked somewhat shamefaced at this and Jack had the tact to cough awkwardly and scratch the back of his head (A/N: see 3.04 'Legacy.' Good ep.). "Now I know it sounds really weird, but let's face it; this is Victoria we're dealing with."

"Good point…" Jack muttered, the general's words echoing in the back of his head. "Do you know where Victoria is?"

"No, mainly because she didn't know where she was, but I can tell you that it wasn't P3X-484." At the looks he was getting, he elaborated. "She said it was much drier, that there no vegetation and only a few people with her."

Jack and Sam exchanged a look, each silently wondering how this could help their case with the general, and Daniel caught it.

"What? What is it, what's wrong?"

The major bit her lip before reluctantly explaining.

v

"ETA, forty-five minutes, sir."

"Good. How are you doing?'

"Fine, sir. Just glad that this whole thing is finally over, sir."

"You and me both, kid." Heine clapped his shoulder, a sudden surge of camaraderie engulfing him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to check in with the higher-ups. Tell them we're nearly there."

v

"What's your status?"

"We should be there within the hour, sir."

"Excellent. Any problems?"

"…Nothing major…"

"Colonel?"

"The package woke up at one point-"

"What?"

"How did that happen?"

"Is there any damage?"

"Isaacs was a little shaken up, but we're all fine."

"And the girl?"

"Successfully neutralized."

"Is she damaged in any way?"

Heine bit his tongue and his frustration. "A few additional bruises, nothing more."

"Very good."

"Alert us when you've landed."

"Yes sir."

v

"What's the situation?"

"Our operatives are due to be released back to active duty tomorrow."

"Has anyone talked?"

"Negative."

"What about SG-1?"

"Jackson's out of commission for a while, Carter hasn't gotten anything, I don't know what the Jaffa is doing, and O'Neill suspects that it was an inside job, but they can't prove anything."

"And Hammond?"

"His hands are tied; according to our man in Washington, he neglected to give full details on the girl's abilities so the Pentagon is ordering the resumption of normal operations."

"Excellent. Keep us apprised."

"Yes, sir."

v

Nearly the second Sam finished her explanation Daniel was swinging his legs over the side of the bed, intent on getting up, on screaming sense into the general or his superiors, on doing _something_.

His legs wouldn't support his weight, though, and he found himself pitching forward into his friends' arms as Janet shouted her protest.

"Whoa! Easy there, big fella," Jack said, gently supporting him from his left side.

"You have to rest, Daniel. You're going to end up hurting yourself." Sam's soft voice came from his right as they eased him back onto the bed.

"I have to talk to General Hammond, explain to him—"

"What? That he should tell the Pentagon that our missing person talked to you psychically so we should get more time to look?" the colonel snapped. "I spent five hours talking to each and every person who went with us to 484 and none of them could tell me anything useful enough for the higher-ups."

"I hate to say it, Daniel, but Colonel O'Neill's right," Sam said quietly. "For right now, it'd probably be best if you rested and let us try and gather some more evidence, try and get General Hammond to let us look on the clock instead of off."

"No… You guys don't understand," the archeologist snapped, trying to move again, only to be stopped by Jack's firm grip on his shoulder.

"Then explain it to us," the older man retorted, not moving.

Daniel ran a hand through his hair frustratedly, trying to find the right words. "Victoria was in my head, in my mind, I could _see_ her as clearly as I see you now and she was scared. Really scared."

Voices, shouting, screams, a squish… The archeologist pressed his palms to his eyes, his glasses riding up to his hairline as he tried to pin down the fleeting memories as the teen's emotions echoed through him.

"All I can say _for certain_ is that we have to find Victoria soon, or else she's going to become a lab rat."

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next week at some point:<strong>

**Chapter 18 Frustration**

**In which teens swear, doctors converse, interviews are conducted, other doctors whine and obvious things become apparent.**


	18. Chapter 18: Frustration

**First off, I have to apologise for the heinously long wait; my computer died for the second time in three months and it took most of this story with it. As it stands, I'm back to only a chap and a half ahead of you and struggling to write more for you, so, for a bit, I may not be able to go back to the once-a-week Monday updates, and for that I'm sorry.**

**On a brighter note, a big thank you to **ethiopian1987**, **Rain Shigu**, and, just today, **leah0812**, for your wonderful reviews. And, as always, thank you to my regulars, I love you all and I'm terribly sorry for the wait.**

**Now, without further ado, chapter 18.**

**Chapter 18 Frustration  
>In which teens swear, doctors converse, interviews are conducted, other doctors whine and obvious things become apparent.<strong>

Victoria groaned, swearing a blue streak as the now-familiar void came into focus. So to speak.

She lifted a hand to her forehead, skimming over her eyebrows in search of the second pair of eyes she had been sure she felt; nothing.

The teen wasn't really certain what had happened, only that the faceless, bodiless 'they' had given her a _lot_ of sedative, much more than before, and it was threatening to put her under completely, even in her current state.

A flash of memory hit her, depicting her tied to a bed, her tearing the restraints, trying to get information out of a young-ish man, a loud crash and then nothing. She massaged her temples, trying to clear her head enough to make sense of it only to have the world fade to black as she succumbed to the drugs.

v

Dr. Natalie Davis glanced up and down the infirmary, pausing when she found her target; Dr. Jackson was propped up in a bed about half-way down the row looking rather surly and not at all interested in the book that was open on his lap.

She took a deep breath and strode forward, her normal heels clicking steadily on the concrete floor as she grew steadily closer; the doctor reached the end of the bed without so much as a cursory glance from the brunet.

Biting her lip, she cleared her throat to make her presence known and Daniel jumped.

"Natalie," he said, blinking several times to focus his eyes. "Sorry, I, uh… didn't hear you come in…"

"It's alright…" she brushed off, trying to think of what to say. "I, er… I heard that you broke a few ribs…"

"Yeah, I did…" He leveled a quizzical glance at her, wondering how she had found out.

"Patricia – Dr. Turner – told me. We're friends…" The blonde looked down at her shoes for a few seconds before speaking again. "So…how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, actually…" He shifted as if to illustrate the point. "I'm, uh… pretty much healed."

Dr. Davis's brows shot into her hairline. "Wow… That's incredible…"

"Well, I had some help…" He didn't elaborate. She didn't ask. The awkward silence stretched on.

"Do you want me to get you anything from your office?" she glanced at the book. "You look like you want something constructive to do."

"You could say that…" He zoned out, obviously thinking about something other than work, and Dr. Davis decided that it would probably be best if she left him to his own devices (especially given how well their conversation had been going).

"Is there anything you want me to have Victoria do if she finishes the Romanian translations?" She hadn't seen the green teen in nearly a week, but then again the doctor hadn't been on base over the weekend and the girl had gone off-world on Monday. Still, with the familiarity she treated Dr. Jackson with, Natalie had expected her to have been lollygagging about the infirmary for the three days prior.

Daniel's jaw tightened, his lips thinning into near-nonexistence, and Dr. Davis suddenly had the feeling she had said something wrong.

"No, thank you."

Frosty…

"Is…something the matter, Dr. Jackson? Aside from the obvious?" She gestured at his IV and machines.

"Victoria…" he began, rubbing his temples tiredly. "Victoria may not be around for a while…"

Immediately the blonde's thoughts jumped to irresponsibility, thinking that the teen was shirking her duties and trying to avoid work, but the weariness the brunet said the words with put a stop to them. Something was wrong.

"What happened?"

Bright blue met stormy and the brunet sighed before beginning his explanation.

v

"Good morning, Sergeant…" Jack checked the manila folder idly, sitting across from the younger man. "Williams." Desperate for something remotely constructive to do, he was going back through all the personnel who had been on the mission to P3X-484.

"G-good morning, sir." The sergeant was a bit rough around the edges, his sandy-blond hair scraggly and his BDUs creased, but he held himself pretty well. The stutter was new, though.

"Problem?" Williams looked confused for a moment before he realized what the colonel was referring to.

"No, sir. Just a minor s-." He closed his eyes, breathing deeply for a moment before finishing clearly. "Stutter."

"I thought the Air Force didn't take recruits with speech impediments," O'Neill commented, leaning back in his chair.

"I got rid of it completely in my teens, sir. It's just in the last few months i-it's come back."

The colonel flipped through the file, pausing at the sight of Dr. Frasier's handwriting. "I guess nearly dying would do that to a person," he murmured lowly, sympathy tingeing his voice

Williams nodded, a barely noticeable twitch in his jaw. "I have M… Victoria t-to thank for that." The colonel raised a brow at the slip and he explained. "I t-talked to her while we were on the mission and she wouldn't let me call her 'Miss Logan'."

Jack nodded his understanding; that sounded like Squirt.

"Well, as you probably remember from our conversation the other day," the 'other' day being the one before, "Victoria is missing. Has been since the mission to 484."

The sergeant nodded, subtle changes in his face betraying his emotions; he was angry, possibly almost as angry as SG-1. This could work to the colonel's advantage.

"Do you remember anything that was… out of the ordinary?"

v

An entourage was waiting for them in the pre-designated field

"Welcome back to Earth, Colonel, Captain, Doctor."

Heine gave a curt nod as the captain was led away by the base's doctor to be checked over for any lasting damage; he sent a small smile back at the colonel and made a point to avoid looking at the ship. Isaacs, on the other hand, kept glancing at the dark entrance, looming within the metal like the doorway to hell.

The eagerness he did it with frightened Heine more than he would have liked to admit

"Thank you, sir. It's good to be home." The colonel saluted appropriately, waiting until the superior officer returned it to relax.

"We would like a full debriefing as soon as you and your crew are able."

The doctor's face fell at the prospect of delaying playtime any further, but Heine simply nodded.

"I think the doctor and I could give you the rundown right now, don't you, Isaacs?" He clapped the sullen man on the shoulder, nearly sending him to the ground.

"Whatever you say, _colonel_." The title was hissed and the doctor glared as they entered the building.

Several medical personnel wheeled the gurney out after them, it's occupant less green than before but just as unmoving, still under the sedative's heavy lullaby.

v

Sam glared at her computer screen, cursing it's inopportune mutiny; it had shown her nothing useful, nothing the least bit productive in the last four hours and she was about two-and-a-half minutes from chucking the damn thing at a wall.

The blonde was so wrapped in her frustrations she didn't notice her tall, stoic teammate enter until he was right next to her, at which time she nearly jumped out of her skin.

"God, Teal'c," Sam pressed a hand to her chest. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"My apologies, Major Carter. It was not my intention to frighten you."

She offered a sheepish chuckle in forgiveness, running her hand through her hair as she secretly thanked him for the distraction.

"May I inquire as to what has happened since my departure?" After the search of P3X-484 had proved fruitless, the former First Prime had used some of the contacts he still had within the Jaffa community to try and find any information on the rouge group of Tau'ri. His efforts had proved less than fruitful and he left to see if he could aid the SGC in searching from their side.

"Well, Victoria contacted Daniel somehow, Daniel is mostly healed, and General Hammond is being forced to resume normal operations, which means everyone who was offworld with us goes back on active duty tomorrow," the blonde explained, massaging her temples tiredly.

A muscle in the Jaffa's jaw flexed. "I see. That is most displeasing…"

"Pffft, tell me about it," the major scoffed. "We have until Janet clears Daniel to find something useful or else we're going to put back on active duty, too."

Teal'c was silent, but gave his usual stony show of understanding. "Is there anything I may do to be of assistance?"

"Well, Colonel O'Neill is going back through SG's 3 and 8, Daniel's trying not to go nuts in the infirmary and I've been banging my head against the keyboard trying to figure out some sort of timeline or plan that these guys could have been following."

The Jaffa nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps you require someone to listen; it often seems that one's thoughts flow best when one expresses them aloud."

Sam gave a small smile at his offer before launching into her rant, complete with hand motions. "There were approximately ten months between our discovery of the second 'Gate and the incident in Utah; in that time, the NID likely would have been concentrating on setting up a military base of some sort, right?"

"Given the hostiles which we have encountered on other worlds, that would seem to be the most logical course of action."

"That's what confuses me, though; yes, Victoria could potentially be the most effective and devastating weapon that we have ever encountered-" oh how it left a terrible taste in her mouth to refer to the teen as a weapon. "- but unless they were especially skilled in brainwashing techniques, she probably wouldn't help them because of how long she spent with us, what we've been through."

For a moment, the professional veneer slipped and Sam was sitting in a cargo plane, feeding apple slices to a purple hamster. She quickly shook her head to re-focus.

"The only other reason they could possibly want with her is scientific, trying to figure out how her powers work, but with such a short amount of time to set up an offworld base, they wouldn't have thought to put any kind of real medical equipment there…." The major trailed off, planting an elbow heavily on the edge of her desk and resting her face in her hand. "I really can't think of any logical plan for them to have followed."

"While on Earth, Victoria Logan was rarely not in the company of several personnel of the SGC, correct?" Teal'c prompted and the major nodded faintly; he had a point.

During her stay, the teen had always been with several members of SG-1 or 2 or on base, a fact which, when brought to light, did make it seem like getting the teen when she was offworld was the easiest.

"Good point…" the blonde breathed, turning back to her computer. "Now I just have to figure out where they went…"

v

"We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"Jackson's back up and running."

"I thought you said that he was severely injured."

"He was, I can't explain it. One day he's a deep breath away from shredding most of his organs, the next he has a couple of hairline fractures."

"When did this happen?"

"That's not clear; it only became apparent this morning."

"That corresponds with…"

"What?"

"Nothing. Keep a sharp eye out and keep us informed

"Understood, sir. Over and out."

She stowed the communicator, her heels clicking as she left her semi-usual hiding place.


	19. Chapter 19: Rule Number One

**Dear most likely annoyed readers; terribly sorry for the four month delay in updating this story. Spring semester has kicked my butt in multiple (and creative) ways, preventing me from writing anymore of this. IT IS NOT DEAD. Really, I swear, I'm totally going to finish, I just have to survive exams and moving and finding a job and stuff. **

**I'll really try to crank out a chapter every other week, if not more frequently, but at this point I really can't make any solemn oaths. **

**Thank you to the six new Alerts on this, as well as the seven new reviews. I hope I can write up to your expectations. Also, apropos of nothing, I've been thinking of maybe changing the title of this tale. Not sure, just tossing around ideas.**

**Now, without further a due, Chapter 19**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19 Rule Number One<br>In which people are impatient and bad memories come back to haunt.**

Isaacs glared heatedly at Colonel Heine as the taller man explained the events of the journey to Earth; he didn't care about what happen that much (the fact that he and everyone else nearly died was just a technicality); he wanted to be in the lab running tests and unraveling the mystery that was their green-skinned guest.

Wesker was grilling them, pressing for each and every detail and if he had to say one more time that he really did measure out the proper amount of sedative for each injection, he was going to scream.

To top the whole experience off, he had just been informed that he had to share the specimen with that fool Rodriguez of all people. _Rodriguez._ The psychologist.

Isaacs snorted, glaring a half-second glare from the colonel which he just shrugged off.

Why would they need a psychologist on the project? The point was to find out how the girl _worked_, what nucleic acids had twisted just so to lend her her incredible powers. Unless her emotions had some play in her abilities, there was no reason for…

Her emotions… that would be an interesting line of inquiry… While it would be an incredibly impractical method in terms of reproduction it would be a fascinating –

"Isaacs."

Colonel Heine's bark broke him from his far more interesting line of thought and he glared his displeasure.

"Do you have anything to add to my account?"

"No, sirs," the scientist ground out, the thin muscles in his legs bunching in anticipation of freedom.

"Very good; Heine, you're coming with me to Washington to brief our superiors and you, Dr. Isaacs, are going to get to work in the lab. Dr. Rodriguez is already there, you two can begin working."

He was out of his chair and out the door almost before the words were out of the officer's mouth.

v

_Victoria…_

The teen grumbled, rolling over.

_Victoria, you have to wake up now…_

She swatted at the annoyingly familiar voice, a heavy shroud of dread clinging to her for a reason she couldn't remember.

"Victoria, Mom says that you have to get up now; we're leaving in fifteen minutes and she wants you to look nice."

Venom bubbled up her throat, threatening to spill out as insults directed at her suddenly nine-year-old brother. Why was he nine? She could have sworn he was just thirteen…

"Tell her I can get there myself," the teen heard herself growl, her eyelids sticky and glued together with poorly applied make-up melted by tears. She hadn't washed it off because she was still going to go out, because any minute he was going to walk through that door and take her to the movies like he promised…

Rodger sighed, fully there now, and shifted uncomfortably in his black suit.

"You know she won't let you out alone after what happened…"

Yeah, she knew, she was just ignoring the fact as best she could because she wasn't ready to deal with it yet.

She would never be ready to deal with it. Dealing with things didn't run in their family.

"I'll be out soon… And I'm taking his bike."

He hadn't taken his bike, choosing to fly with David and the others rather than ride, so the motorcycle was still in the garage as pristine as they had left it only days before after he walked her through a basic tune-up.

Their younger brother sighed again and worried the tip of a slightly elongated ear, his nervous tic.

"Mom won't like it…"

Victoria finally opened her eyes, the all-too-painful image of her youngest sibling standing in his funerary suit assaulting her for the second time in too few years.

"Tell her it's my birthday present."

v

Teal'c grunted, his eyes opening as his kel'no'reem was interrupted. He looked around his room for the source, wondering what had happened and where the intense feeling of trepidation had come from.

v

Violet eyes snapped open, wide beneath tufts of hair glued to her forehead by sweat. Victoria sat up, breathing deeply and running a hand through her hair, trying to figure out, well, several things, chief among them why that particular memory had decided to surface.

It was the day of his funeral, two days after her thirteenth birthday; he had promised to take her to the new Clash of the Planets movie. They had been excited about it for weeks, speculating about how Leroy Nemod could fit into the plot and just being anxious for it in general.

But something came up, and he left to save the day.

And he did.

He just never came back…

The look on David's face when they came back and he wasn't with them… The red-head's recounting of his last wish, to take care of her…

The teen shook her head, trying to escape the memories she had so carefully buried; it was bad enough that some part of her though about him whenever she used her powers, his instruction echoing in the darkest corners of her brain.

Just for now, she had to forget. To focus on the here and now as opposed to the impending anniversary.

She breathed deeply, finding her equilibrium and balancing in the needle-fine point, her legs crossing and finders curling automatically as her eyes slid shut.

v

"She's awake, sir."

Isaacs nearly fell over his own feet in his rush to the monitor, vaguely aware of Rodriguez moving to join him.

The girl looked like she was panting, dragging her fingers through her hair and shaking her head as if to rid herself of something. Still visibly shaken, she crossed her legs and closed her eyes, her hands resting palms-upward on her knees

"What's she doing?" the dark-haired doctor asked and Isaacs tried not to roll his eyes.

"Meditating," he snapped. It really should have been obvious. "Is this live?" he asked the techie without pausing.

"There's a slight delay in the footage, but yeah, it's pretty much live."

"Excellent, alert me the second she stops doing this; I want to start testing as soon as possible," Isaacs ordered, practically salivating at the thought. The sound of the psychologist clearing his throat brought his mood down like a cruise missile.

"Colonel Wesker authorized me to make a full psychological evaluation before beginning any physical tests," Rodriguez informed him and the sandy-brunet couldn't rein the growl that rumbled low in his throat; he knew better, however, then to argue.

Rodriguez was a goody-goody, lacking the backbone it would take to lie about something like orders; while it was unfortunate, it was probably true and Isaacs had heard enough about Wesker's reputation to not want to get on his bad side, no matter how friendly he had been in greeting the landing party.

"Whatever the Colonel ordered, then." The acid in his tone was palpable.

v

It was nearly an hour later when Victoria felt herself calm enough to assess her situation, her memories suppressed to her liking.

Dialed in to her current situation, she quietly extended tendrils of power without opening her eyes, Bruce's voice in her head instructing her; the room's edges were sought out first, then the corners where wall met ceiling, each detail showing up and getting catalogued in the back of her mind and inferences were drawn.

Lots of cracks - old building, probably concrete, possibly reinforced.

High ceiling – not originally a prison.

Plastic bubble protruding from a wall – camera, being watched, careful with the movements.

Energy in the ceiling – more potent than a regular light, watch for traps.

Satisfied with her assessment, she opened her eyes to wait, glancing around the small, white room taking in its overwhelming… whiteness. There was a cot, a desk with a stack of paper, a cupful of pencils and a large eraser, a solid molded plastic chair aaaaaaaaaaaand that was about it. A bucket sat in the corner, its use fairly obvious, and the teen decided she would be relieving herself as something other than a human.

Experimentally, she plucked a pencil from the cup and tossed it out into the room, not entirely surprised when it met a force-field with a buzz and a hiss, falling to the floor. The shield was unlike any she had ever encountered, leading her to believe it was probably Goa'uld tech ripped off by whoever has her. Either that or it was the Goa'uld who had her.

She found the second choice far from likely, though; the furniture screamed IKEA and air reeked of CO2 and other hydrocarbon by-products. So with the species of her captors figured out, she set about thinking of what agency they could call home. From what she remembered of Sam's explanations (and Jack's irritated rants) the teen was pretty confident that she was dealing with the NID. Not that it was a particularly comforting thought.

The changeling glanced around, taking a mental tally: poor decorating sense, check; stark empty warehouse, check; misplaced and probably stolen alien technology, check.

Definitely US government.

She sat back down on the bed intent on waiting patiently to see what happened and Bruce's voice came back, lecturing her on the standard procedures of being capture. Rule number one; you are never impatient.

The teen blew a strand of hair out of her face with a puff of air; this was gonna be a while.

* * *

><p><strong>Coming next time:<strong>

**Chapter 20 Introductions  
>In which, well, people get introduced, Janet gets sneaky, Rodriguez gets no-where, and Victoria gets furry.<strong>


	20. Chapter 20: Introductions

**First things first, I have to apologize again; the C drive on my laptop got wiped out and I've spent the last three weeks trying to fix it and retrieve any files that I could off of it. It hasn't been going well.**

**Right now I have half of the next chap re-written, so I hope to have that out before August, but I rally can't make any solid commitments between work and family stuff. Sorry, and I hope you like this at least.**

**Chapter 20 Introductions  
>In which, well, people get introduced, Janet gets sneaky, Rodriguez gets no-where, and Victoria gets furry.<strong>

"You're sure she's awake?" Rodriguez asked, studying the green figure on the screen; she didn't really look like she was. Actually, he'd be hard pressed to find a difference between the image on the screen now and the one from more than an hour previous.

"She was just moving, sir," the younger man replied, typing in a string of commands; the feed rewound, showing her moving around her area before settling back on the bed.

"Have a couple of the gunmen meet me outside her cell, please," the psychologist said, gathering a clipboard and heading for the door. "And tell Colonel Wesker that I've started my evaluation."

"Do you want me to page Dr. Isaacs?" the techie asked, turning to him; Rodriguez groaned.

It was no secret that the other doctor didn't like him, but they had been ordered to keep each other in the loop, whether they liked it or not.

"Yes, but he can't be in the room, he can watch from here."

With that, he left the room, heading to their guests' cell.

v

"White, Addison, remember, weapons hot and keep 'em on her at all times," the commander was telling the other two soldiers waiting when the doctor arrived; he was tall and lean, with scraggy blond hair that looked in need of a cutting. His companions were similarly scruffy-looking, the stocky man sporting a few days' worth of stubble and the woman simply appearing to be in a foul mood.

All three of them looked capable and, in the wrong light, rather frightening

v

Victoria felt them before seeing them, the faint tingling sensation on the edge of her senses she usually associated with living creatures dampened by the shield; the gentle buzz of brain activity was muffled as well, barely audible as the three, no, four figures entered the room.

Three of them were tightly strung, ready to move at a half-second's notice and utterly unfeeling at the present. Body guards; probably military, probably marines. Definitely armed.

The fourth figure was somewhat looser, but not by much; male, thirties, scientist? Felt like a scientist; highly organized yet simultaneously chaotic in a way so similar to Sam and Daniel that it physically pained her.

She skimmed over their minds, finding out as much as she could through the fog before they came to a stop just outside the force field. The three military spread out, taking up positions surrounding her as the scientist halted near the closest thing the bubble had to a front.

Victoria remained motionless, eyes closed, waiting for them to make the first move.

v

Dr. Rodriguez stared, not taking his eyes from the slight figure on the bed as he sat on the rickety folding chair placed just outside the shield, wincing as it shrieked in the quiet. The girl flinched slightly at the noise, and he took that as he queue to begin.

"Good morning, Victoria…"

v

"Well, It looks like you are just about healed, Daniel," Janet said, reviewing his x-rays. "The last of your rib fractures are mending nicely and your sternum is completely fixed."

The archeologist didn't say anything, his tongue wedged firmly between his teeth as he rocked back and forth in impatience; it was Friday already, five days since their ill-fated mission to P3X-484 and they were no closer to finding Victoria, no thanks to him. The days of being stuck in the infirmary without anything productive to do had taken their toll on him and he was currently at the stage of cabin fever that made digging through the reinforced concrete with a plastic spoon look mighty appealing.

"You should be ready to go back to work by Tuesday, at this rate."

He blinked, not sure he had heard correctly. "Tuesday?" The CMO nodded.

"I want to keep you here for observation over the weekend, just to make sure that there are no adverse side-effects from such rapid healing," she replied, writing a few notes on her ever-present clipboard.

"I thought that you couldn't find any with that lieutenant V healed a few months ago?" Daniel snapped, struggling to figure out why the doctor was grounding him for so long.

"He had a different type of injury; soft tissue injuries take…" she continued to talk but held up the note she had written for him to read.

_If I put you back on active duty, then the rest SG-1 won't be able to continue looking for her. _

Daniel shut his jaw with a click and pursed his lips slightly in irritation; she was right, no matter how much he disliked it. She withdrew the note.

"…be three more days, at the very least. Until then, I'm going to have to restrict you to the base."

A smile tugged at her lips and he quirked a brow, spotting the loophole.

"Whatever you say, Janet."

v

Victoria had to give this, Rodriguez, guy some credit for persistence; he had been talking for the past hour, easily, and she had done her damnedest to make sure he didn't know she was awake. Of course, he could just be blowing smoke, but the effort was valiant if ultimately fruitless.

In the mean time, the teen had been mulling over what act to put on for her captors; the truth was waaay out of the question, so was the sobbing petrified teen (which, incidentally, was closer to the truth than she would ever admit), which left few options.

She figured that creepy bad-ass would work best, assuming she could properly channel some strange mix of both her mother on a bad day and Bruce on, well, almost any day. And also assuming she didn't have a mental breakdown before this whole ordeal was over.

Outside, the shrink gave a frustrated sign, not the first, and ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, Victoria, I realize that this isn't the most ideal of circumstances, but we are on the same side, here." Oh, her tongue was almost bleeding from stifling her snort. Same side. Totally. "We both want the Goa'uld gone and Earth safe, don't we? All I'm asking for is a little help."

She stayed silent.

"Look, the sooner you talk, the sooner I can get you out of here."

That was the final straw; a sharp bark of laughter burst past her lips, bordering on cruel and making the four other humans jump.

"Yeah, right."

Rodriguez stared for a half-second before seizing of his perceived progress. She wasn't silent anymore, so it was a start.

"I'm serious, Victoria; if you help us, we'll let you go."

The teen opened her eyes, not even having to search for the doctor's own brown ones to boar into them.

"You are a civilian psychologist on what is obviously a military base; no matter how big a fish you think you are, you have next to no pulling power here and you know it."

The doctor continued to stare, trying to formulate a response when she cut him off again.

"Your superiors had me kidnapped from another planet, from out of the custody of the United States Air Force, have repeatedly drugged me without consent, and are now trying to coerce information out of me after letting me see several of your personnel; there is no way in hell they would ever let me leave here unless that were totally sure I was on your side, which is impossible."

"W-what's impossible?" he asked, blinking away his shock. "My superiors being convinced that you've joined us or you actually joining us?"

"Both." The teen closed her eyes again. "I've lived at the SGC for three months, during which time I built too emotional a connection to a good chunk of personnel, there's no way to be completely certain that I won't defect to them once again. And there's no way in hell I would actually help you." Her tone was clipped, the message obvious; piss off.

"But—"

Victoria cut him off, morphing into a huge green tiger and pouncing at him.

v

Isaacs bit his lip nearly to the point of bleeding as he tried to curb the unadulterated _joy_ welling up within him at the grainy video. That moron Rodriguez had sat right in front of the girl, just outside the shield, for almost precisely seventy-four minutes before getting any response from her what-so-ever. And, boy, the show was fun, especially once he'd pinched the headphones of the tech guy (he didn't know what his name was. Didn't much matter).

The solid dressing down the teen dished out was priceless and Isaac bit his knuckle almost to bleeding trying to stifle his laughter.

But _then_, the girl transformed and what a beautiful thing to behold it was; the flawless transition from adolescent human to huge snarling feline was artful and elegant and the scientist wished he could have been in the room, cursing the poor quality of the security feed. Heat stirred deep within him and the sandy-brunet had to beat a hasty retreat, leaving the surveillance room before his excitement got any worse.

v

Victoria was pretty sure that the moment she transformed several things would happen, most of them being fairly detrimental to her health. The sound of three guns cocking and snapping to action made up the first one, the sound echoing threateningly in the large empty. The look of abject terror on the doctor's was the second, all blood draining from his face in a nanosecond as he scrambled backwards what seemed like an eternity later, so slow were his reflexes in comparison to hers in this state.

And the last one she wasn't absolutely certain of, but steeled herself for none-the-less as the heretofore invisible force field came closer. Her plate-sized paws hit the unseen wall about four feet off the ground, the shield sending currents of pain through her feline body as she dropped.

The tiger shook off the aftershocks, bearing her teeth in a feral snarl as she unsheathed her claws, swiping repeatedly at the field and ignoring the throbbing in favour of embracing the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Tiny pricks, different from the constant hum of the shield, radiated from her shoulders and flanks, cooling as they hit and remaining ignored until the darkness they carried finally washed over, dragging her back into the inky black that had been her constant companion for the last week.

v

"Clear!" Captain Johnson barked, flicking the safety back on his modified CAR-15 and signaling the other two to do the same. Addison nodded, echoing his call and dropping her barrel. White waited a few seconds longer, eyeing the huge green cat for several long seconds before following suit.

A harsh scraping told him that Rodriguez was still breathing, the doctor scrambling to his feet and righting the folding chair he had tumbled over.

"You alright, doctor?" Johnson bit out, his eyes snapping back to their unconscious guest and not straying.

"Yes, I'm fine," the psychologist replied, gathering up his papers hastily. "I... I think that's enough interviewing for one day."

Johnson snorted, continuing to glare at the feline as he made a series of one-armed gestures. Without uttering a word, he heard the other two members of his team moving out, White lingering on Rodriguez while Addison got the door open.

Within seconds, the holding room was empty and silent, save the deep breathing of a green tiger and the steady electrical buzz given off by the shield generator.

**Coming next time:**

**Chapter 21 Plan of Attack  
>In which a teen ponders, a colonel yells, a scientist yells more, and Victoria gets shot again.<strong>


	21. Chapter 21: Plan of Attack

**A/N: Yes, I am a terrible person, no this story isn't dead yet, yes there will be more, no, probably not all that soon. **

**Apologies all.**

**Chapter 21 Plan of Attack  
>In which a teen ponders, a colonel yells, a scientist yells more, Victoria gets shot again, and teenagers fight.<strong>

Victoria laid on her stomach, head propped up on a hand as her legs jiggled impatiently from the knee. She was really getting sick of this whole 'knocked unconscious by the bad guys every ten seconds' thing and starting to regret not having a more normal reaction to sedative, like actually _being unconscious_.

Being stuck inside your own head with squat to do was a real drag and, not for the first time, she wondered idly if this is what going mad felt like. Oh, she knew she was crazy; just about everyone she had ever met and/or known had at least though it once or twice, but she wasn't _clinically_ insane.

And, yes, she had been tested. (Before the Overload-birthday clown debacle but after the little incident with the ceiling fan and the fish tank.)

But given another couple of…well she couldn't actually call them 'days,' but… _trips_ into her own personal solitary confinement, and she might actually start to lose it, complete with eyes-glazing and mouth-frothing.

Blowing out an exasperated puff of air, she rolled on her back, resisting the urge to purr as her back cracked satisfyingly in the process and instead meowing contentedly as she settled in for the long haul.

v v v

Wesker was waiting in his office for Rodriguez and Johnson after the scientist had dropped his notes in the lab for all the good they would do. The room was small and cramped and, in a former life had been a rather large closet, only recently 'converted' for the purpose of managerial work (the 'conversion' being taking out the shelves and replacing them with a large, dark desk with a laptop and a mobile phone charger). Regardless of the furniture, it still looked like a closet: undersized, windowless, and claustrophobia-inducing.

"What the hell happened in there?" the colonel shouted, more than a bit ticked as the two entered.

The psychologist calmly recounted events, stopping at the point when his entourage opened fire. Wekser turned his honey-brown eyes on the captain.

"How much ammo did you use?" he bit out.

"I got off six shots, Addison got off two, and White nine," the younger man reported and Wesker practically growled.

"You're telling me that you used seventeen darts to subdue a single subject?"

"I guess I am, sir."

The colonel pinched the bridge of his nose, silently counting to ten. "You do realize that ONE of those darts is enough to knock out a rhino, don't you?"

"No, sir, I was not aware of this fact."

"And I suppose you're also unaware that you just pumped over eighty-five milligrams of a Schedule II drug into our test subject, thereby using more than half of our supplies of it."

It wasn't a question, so the captain didn't bother answering it.

"Addison is a trained sharpshooter, isn't she?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you and White are to give her whatever remains of your sedatives and take the two Intar weapons we have in the armoury, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now get out of here."

Johnson didn't waste any time in departing, leaving Dr. Rodriguez alone with the irate commander.

"Please tell me you where able to get something of use from today," Wesker groaned, rubbing his temples so hard it looked like he would scrape the skin off.

"Well…" the psychologist began, "The subject is very patient; she goes out of her way to seem very sure of herself, but, from her word choice and phrase repetition, I would venture to guess that she's rather insecure."

The colonel snorted, leaning back against his desk. "She's a teenager, of course she's insecure. Is there any way for us to use that?"

Rodriguez bit a lip, worrying the tender flesh for a few seconds before answering. "Honestly, Colonel, I don't think so; she found comfort and security with the SGC and we just ripped that away from her. At this point I'd say we'd have more chance of convincing a bear not to maul someone than getting any sort of reliable commitment from her."

"Shit…" the taller man breathed, pushing off of the desk and circling behind it. He glared at his desk for a few moments, and when no flames burst to life on the surface he turned his gaze back on the doctor. "In less than twelve hours, I'm going to be on a plane headed for Washington for a meeting with our commander as well as our backer. I would have liked to have a complete psyche workup on her in addition to what we got from the SGC."

The forced calm that laced his tone sent shivers down the younger man's spine.

"Is there anything that wasn't in that file that you can give me?"

"Someone's trained her in hostage tactics," Rodriguez murmured. "Or, at least, it looks that way."

A blond eyebrow shot up into the colonel's hairline. "Pardon?"

"It appears that someone trained the subject in hostage conditions, specifically the moves of the hostage takers. She was able to analyze situation from our point of view and accurately determine what our most likely courses of action would be."

"Interesting…" The colonel leaned back, steepling his fingers. "Her friends at the SGC?"

The psychologist shook his head. "Probably not; according to her file, she mostly did linguistics work with Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Then it must pre-date her arrival. Excellent work, Doctor." Wesker smiled and turned to his computer. "You may go."

Rodriguez quickly turned, eager to leave, only to be brought up short by his commander barking at him.

"One more thing: tell Isaacs he can start his tests now." He offered a rather crooked grin. "Don't want to waste any of that sedative, now, do we?"

Antonio nodded soundlessly and fled.

v v v

It was twenty minutes before Rodriguez was about to find Isaacs (the security technician had said he ran off while watching the subject feed), and when he did, the taller man was wearing his lab coat, pouring over the psychologist's notes in the psychologist's office.

"Dr. Isaacs," he said, clearing his throat as the man in question jumped a foot in the air.

"What? What is it? What do you want?" the older man snapped, whipping around to face him.

The psychologist stared for a second, trying to process, before answering. "Um, the subject is sedated at the moment; Colonel Wesker said that you could begin your tests."

A disconcerting grin split Isaacs' face and he actually rubbed his hands together, looking much more like a psychotic evil scientist than anyone had any right to.

"Excellent, excellent… what's the drug and dosage? I want to know how long I have."

"Uh, let me check." Antonio edged around his colleague carefully and retrieved the files from his own desk. "Approximately eighty-five milligrams of etorphine hydrochloride."

"Johnson and his lackeys get a little trigger-happy?" Isaacs snorted. "All for the better, I have a good deal of time to work."

v v v

Richard Isaacs was a very happy man at the moment. He had a fascinating new test subject, a relatively well-stocked facility to work with, and, to top it all off, enough sedative in the system to knock out a blue whale. If things got any better, he might actually start to whistle.

He smiled and nodded to Johnson and his gun hands, waiting patiently beside his two lab techs and the gurney for them to open the door as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, a few seconds away from singing.

When the door opened, however, everything came to a screeching halt.

"What is that?" he asked, turning slowly to glare at Johnson.

"That would be your subject, Doctor," the fat man – he didn't know his name, didn't care - replied, speaking as if he was explaining to a small child.

"She's still a tiger," Isaacs bit out, gritting his teeth. "I'm a physiologist, not a veterinarian! I can't work with her like this!"

The two med techs accompanying him shrank back, nearly hiding behind the soldiers, and he rounded on the scrawny one.

"You! Get the Naloxone! We're going to get her back to human, then dose her again." The small, spectacle-wearing man nodded quickly before tearing off; Isaacs then laid into the gun-nuts. "Which one of you has the etorphine hydrochloride?"

They looked at him blankly and he growled lowly.

"The sedative, you morons! The drugs to knock her out!"

The woman stepped forward, lips pressed into a thin line. "I do, sir."

"I suppose that means you're the most competent with that pea-shooter, then?" She didn't answer. "The _second_ the subject is human again, you are to tranquilise her, do you understand?" Again, she remained silent, simply offering a nod.

"Good, now, what do you two have?" Isaacs asked Johnson, gesturing to him and the fat man.

"Non-lethal rounds," the captain bit out.

"What effect do they have on the victim?" the doctor demanded.

"What do you mean?" the fat one asked.

Isaacs growled, pinching the bridge of his nose; why did all of the military personnel have to be such complete _idiots_?

"What do they _do_ to the thing you shoot at? Are they projectiles? Do they leave burns? Bruises? Little butterfly-shaped tattoos? Can they break bones? Can they tear cartilage? All of these things would have to be cataloged before we even think about starting the tests."

"They bruise, sir, usually small, but very dark," the woman replied and Isaacs was glad that at least _one _of them had some sense.

"Thank you, now get that dart gun ready so we can proceed," Isaacs said as the scrawny assistant came sprinting back down the hall, a dark green case in hand. The doctor took the case, carefully opening it as the spineless lab tech collapsed in a wheezing mass at his feet.

"What took you so long, Charlie?" Isaacs asked, pretending to care for the sake of the others' cooperation; most people could only take a certain amount of distain before becoming completely intolerant of him. He was vaguely aware of someone correcting him (Charlie, Jake, what's the difference?) while he measured out the proper amount of Naloxone into a fresh syringe.

"What is that stuff?" Johnson asked as he finished, carefully replacing the unused liquid.

"It is an opiate inverse agonist called Naloxone; it works on a chemical level to reverse the effects of opiates, such as the one you used to sedate her," the taller lab tech explained once it became apparent the doctor wasn't going to.

"How much time will we have?" Finally a sensible question! Oh, it was refreshing to know that there was at least one brain present.

"Under two minutes." Isaacs turned back to the door, striding through it. "Bill here will inject her with this and hopefully get out in time," he thrust the syringe at the taller of the two lab techs, again ignoring any corrections or protests, "and then we'll be able to continue. Everybody ready?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Fantastic! On we go!"

v v v

Victoria turned onto her stomach, sniffing the air; people were there, a few from before along with several new ones, scientists most likely from the scent of isopropyl alcohol. She felt phantom ears flattening against her skull as she hissed and bared her teeth; beware scientists carrying syringes, as her oldest brother used to joke and given the current situation, she would bet good money that these guys would be packing.

v v v

"Holyshititjustmoved!" Charlie squealed, once again hiding behind the fat soldier. Isaacs shot him a disapproving glance before shoving the tall tech towards the unconscious tiger.

"Go on, Bill, wake her up."

The dark-haired man glared as he moved forward. "My name's Robert…."

No-one spoke as the faint humming of the field generator ceased and a light orange sheen coloured the air before drawing upwards like a curtain rising. Bill quietly walked up to the huge cat, flinching every time her palm-sized ears twitched.

Once he was close enough, he swiftly drove the needle into her neck, depressing the plunger and hauling ass almost before the liquid had left the tube.

The buzz and orange glow of the shield returned and within seconds the massive cat was up, swatting at the syringe and snarling loudly.

v v v

Victoria growled, muscles bunching as the unknown person drew closer, closer, far too close. A sharp pain in her neck alerted her to another injection, but now the pain didn't fade at the source, instead racing through her veins and lighting every nerve in her body up with pain. Lightning tore through her as she jerked to her feet, now conscious, as she tried desperately to tear the offending object out.

Her paws, huge and fit for silence, did nothing and she felt the fur melt away, giving way to skin and fingers which twitched and shook as they jerked the needle out. The room swam before her, slanting and bending like she had gone on the Tilt-A-Whirl a few too many times and what little was left in her stomach came up with a load of bile.

She squinted up, looking, searching for something real by which she could anchor herself, orient herself to the room so she could just figure out which way was up before she fell through the ceiling and landed at a table laden with mis-matched teacups and headed by a crazy milliner with heavy-metal poisoning.

People spoke, their voices mixing and blending and separating, rendering them incomprehensible but she tried desperately to comprehend anyway, something nagging on her to fight through the fog and run, run, never stop running, though from and to where she didn't know.

She tried to stand, to move, and the voices grew louder, rising to the volume of jet engines and forcing her to clutch her head in a vain attempt to block them out. Shrieks and cries and howls ground against her skull and she was able to recognize the loudest as her own before the world went completely black again and blissful silence engulfed her.

**v**

Silence reigned in the seconds after the green teen collapsed, most of the other occupants in the room horrified by what had transpired. After a moment, however, Isaacs was up and yammering into a small tape recorder excitedly.

"This is fascinating! The subject appears to have an incredibly fast metabolism; five days' worth of opiate sedatives were enough to induce withdrawal symptoms when an inverse agonist was administered!" He continued tittering, pacing excitedly as everyone tried to shake themselves out of their stupor.

The thinner soldier was the first to find his voice, his jaw shutting with an audible click as he turned to the doctor.

"That the hell was that?" he ground out.

Isaacs groaned; hadn't the moron heard what he just said? "I believe the term is 'screaming withdrawal,' in this instance literally. Because of her age, and possibly her powers, her metabolism is very fast, which means it took a larger dose of drugs to keep her under than normal. It also appears that almost five days of continuous dosing created a physiological dependency on it, which is why the inverse agonist sent her into withdrawal." Seeing the still-confused look on the fat one's face, Isaac bit back a growl. "In five days she became an addict, in five seconds she de-toxed completely and her body couldn't handle it. Get it?"

Not waiting for an answer, he gestured for Charlie to wheel the gurney over so he could get down to business.

v v v

Jake glared at his superior, navigating around him as Robert signaled for the shield to be lowered. Really, he couldn't fathom why the psycho had been put in charge. He kneeled down, lowering the bed and moving to slide his arms under the unconscious green figure. I mean, the guy clearly had a few screws loose in the—

His fingers touched the girl and he froze, unable to move, as images flashed before his eyes: an orange woman who could fly, two boys; one green, one grey, throwing black balls at each other that disappeared when they hit; a huge blue robot man with the face of a kind uncle and mischief in his one brown eye; a red-headed archer; a little boy shooting lasers from his eyes; a huge building on an island, so tall he couldn't see the top.

"Jake. Jake, you okay?" Robert's hand was on his shoulder, shaking him from his stupor. He blinked, then blinked again, rubbing his head and trying to focus.

"Y-yeah…I'm fine. Just…tired…" He glanced warily at the teen before moving to her other side, helping his fellow lab tech get her on the gurney

v v v

Daniel looked around in… well, wonder wasn't the right word. Neither was frustration, really Interest worked.

He glanced around the room, taking in the room; it was huge, at least two stories tall, with one entire wall dominated by windows. The linguist went to them, examining the view, trying to figure out where in the world he was; the building was very tall and on an island, an unfamiliar city dominating the shoreline. He turned back to the room, looking for any clues; the curved couch, bookshelves, computer consoles, and bean bag chairs didn't help him in the least, nor did the cool stainless steel walls, and non-descript floors.

Without warning, a large section of the wall across from the window split, its abstract design neatly halving down the middle to admit a good-sized group of people who, for some reason, all seemed achingly familiar. Unsure of exactly how he got there and not wanting to deal with an interrogation, Daniel launched himself behind a huge computer-type thing, watching the group in the reflection in the window.

"Great job today, team," said a lean man in a mask, obviously the oldest of them. "David, remember not to rely on starbolts too much," a lanky, black-haired kid flushed, "And Rachel, I know that Curveball Mayhem isn't your favourite, but it is effective." A green-skinned girl with equally emerald hair rolled her eyes and pouted, the look not disguising the mirth in her hunter orbs. "If you can come up with something better, I'll gladly swap it out, but until then, it stays. Other than that, you're all free to go. I'll see you tomorrow at six am, sharp!"

The teens collectively groaned, ignoring the adult as he took his leave, his black pony tail flittering behind him as the doors slid shut, and Daniel took the opportunity to glance out into the room.

No-one noticed him.

Taking that to mean he was invisible/incorporeal, he moved out from his hiding place and settled in to watch the proceedings.

"Hey Dave, how come your dad's such a hard-ass?" a pale, green-haired boy asked snarkily as he sank into a bean-bag.

The black-haired kid, David, glared back shuffling to the mini-fridge and pulling out five cans. "Don't even start, Steven, you know he only wants to prepare us for anything that could happen. Especially after Nathan…"

There was a collective moment of silence which screamed of fresh, shared grief, before the conversation resumed.

"Besides, I'd rather do seven hours in the obstacle course than spar with your mother on a bad day."

He tossed the cans out to each kid amidst murmurs of agreement; the pale boy, Steven, and a younger, purple-haired version of him caught their drinks with dark energy resembling Victoria's, while Rachel, the green girl, turned into a large toad, her tongue flashing out to snatch the can from the air. The last kid, who had so far remained silent, had to jump to catch her soda and remained there, hovering several feet off the floor.

"David!" she snapped, sticking her tongue out at him only to earn a laugh.

"Sorry sis," he replied sweetly before taking a gulp of his drink and sobering. "Has anyone heard anything about Victoria?"

At this Daniel perked up, hopping down from the raised sill by the window and moving towards the teens; the younger grey boy's ear twitched.

"Not since Mom dragged me into that stupid ritual two weeks ago," Steven spat, his nose wrinkling with distaste as he chugged his soda.

Deciding to test a theory, Daniel spoke up. "Uh, 'scuse me. That wouldn't be Victoria Logan you're talking about would it?" No-one acknowledged him, though the grey kid's ears were still twitching. "None of you can actually see or hear me, can you?"

"Aren't you the least bit worried about her, Steven? She's your twin for goodness' sake!" David's sister snapped.

"Twin?" Daniel echoed in disbelief.

"Ah, quit it, Mary, she's probably fine."

"Seriously, Steve, I know you two have your issues, but she's our sister," Rachel added from her perch cross-legged on the counter.

"Ok, that's two siblings…" the archeologist murmured to himself.

"Would all of you just leave me alone, for cripe's sake? I mean, come on! She probably had another fight with Mom and ran away again."

David glared at the green-haired boy. "She's never been gone this long, before. Not without any of our parents or Uncle Cy being able to find her."

"What about that stint in Middleton, huh? Or the trip to Keystone?" Steven countered. "Hal Jordan and his husband had to drag her all the way back from Kansas!"

"But that's exactly the point!" David snapped. "Someone has _always_ been able to find her before, either through the Justice League or the Doom Patrol or even Larry! Either Victoria has suddenly gotten so good at disappearing that she's been able to elude our dad and your mom, or something bad happened."

Steven pulled a face, miming the other boy's words with a crude hand-puppet. "Come on, Dave we all know that the only reason you're this worked up is that you're in love with her."

David's face went from tan to beet red in a nanosecond. "I-I am not!" There were several sniggers. "We're just friends! I'm concerned about her as a friend!"

"Yeah right, Grayson," Steven taunted, a feral glint graced his eye. "You're infatuated with my sister, don't deny it; you can't lie to a psychic."

"You're not a psychic, _Logan_," David bit back, the temperature of the room dropping along with the blood in his cheeks.

"Guys, come on. Break it up," Mary instructed, moving to float between them as the two stalked towards each other.

"Back off, Tinker Bell!" the green-haired teen snarled, throwing a hand up towards her; black energy engulfed the red head, pushing her backwards.

"Let go of my sister!" David yelled, his hands and eyes glowing bright blue.

Steven just smirked. "Make me."

Several balls of blue energy beat his chest, driving him back and releasing his hold on Mary. The burst was shortly followed by the black-haired teen plowed into him and the kerfuffle devolved into an old-fashioned fist fight, the boys wrestling and rolling about as they volleyed for control.

"Steve! David! Stop it!" Rachel yelled, helping Mary up.

The little grey boy with purple hair who had been silent now rose, calmly walking to the two older boys. He wordlessly put a hand on each of their heads and a wave of calm enveloped the room, sinking into the very center of each occupant.

"You shouldn't fight," the purple-haired boy said quietly and the two opponents detached themselves, withdrawing to their own corners to lick to nurse their bruises and egos. The pacifying boy then turned his luminous green eyes on Daniel.

_Follow me._

Not wanting to question anything at this point, the archeologist did so, jogging around the curved sofa and after the little grey boy whom he hoped held some answers.


	22. Chapter 22: Time to Science Part I

**A/N: Thank you to my lovely reviewers, I'll try for monthly updates from now on. (Should give me time to write more of this as well as my other projects)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 22: Time to Science Part I<br>In which Victoria is injured in the name of science, Daniel meets Wingnut, and Rodriguez is decent.**

"What's our status?" Dr. Isaacs asked, placing a fifth vial on the tray closest to him.

"We've gotten scrapings from most of the major organs, however the heart is posing a problem," Charlie replied, carefully closing the slit in the green teen's throat over her thyroid. "The density of her intercostals coupled with the size and placement of her lungs make it extremely difficult to maneuver."

Isaacs frowned. "Fine, pack up, close her up. You," he gestured to Bill, "get those samples to the lab. I want them on ice and ready for study by the time I get there."

"Yes, sir."

"And for the regeneration tests," the doctor said. "Left side; anterior dislocation of the humorous, crack radius, break ulna, splint lower arm, and fracture three ribs, true, false, and floating." He watched as Bill took his instructions down, making sure the younger man got them right. "Once those heal, repeat on the right and make note of the time difference between dominant and non-dominant sides."

"Yes, sir."

The doctor chose to ignore his assistant's tone and started striping off his gloves and scrubs, chucking them in the in by the door after marveling at the claret blood coating them. Red blood, she had red blood! This was astounding! With the difference in skin pigmentation, he was certainly surprised that the subject had the same colour blood as a normal mammal. It was most likely iron-based, given this fact, but more tests would have to be done to determine…

As the door closed, several sickening cracks echoed through the room, followed by someone running and dry heaving.

v v v

Daniel jogged after the small grey boy, following him through a labyrinth of hallways and down two flights of stairs before they came to a tall set of pocket doors similar to the ones in the…library-kitchen-room, with the exception that these had the name 'Rodger' neatly printed on them. He skirted through the doors just as they were closing and the second they snapped shut, the kid turned on him

"Who are you and how do you know my sister?" he demanded, a faint black glow rimming his green irises.

The archeologist raised his hands placatingly. "My name is Daniel Jackson; I'm a friend of Victoria's."

The boy's eyes narrowed, but lost some of their glow. "Prove it."

"Um… she's about so high, has green skin, purple eyes and hair, knows at least eight languages, and has an unhealthy obsession with blue raspberry Jell-O," he listed off quickly.

"Yeah, that's Ella." His interrogator relaxed, the glow fading to be replaced with worry. "Did she send you to check on me or something?"

Daniel quirked a brow at this. "Um, no…. I'm not actually sure how I got here, especially since Victoria's still missing."

"What do you mean, 'she's missing'?" Rodger – Victoria said she had a brother named Rodger, didn't she? – demanded.

"She was kidnapped five days ago," Daniel replied.

The kid paled even further and closed his eyes, pressing his knuckles to his temples with his face screwed up in concentration.

"Ok, um, a couple of days ago, did Victoria have any kind of weird dreams or fits or anything? Say anything weird in another language that you couldn't figure out?" the boy asked.

The green teen's nightmare from the previous weekend, coupled with the outburst and paint-job, came flooding back. "Yeah, she did."

"When was that?"

Daniel thought hard. "Exactly seven days ago."

"Ella you glorfmorka," the kid growled, running a hand over his face. At the man's confused look, he explained. "Three days ago, I accidentally switched bodies with her, trying to establish a link, and she failed to mention that."

Three days…. "You were the one she was singing to."

Rodger stared at him hard, his green eyes almost boring through his skull to poke through his mind itself (which, given who the kid was related to, wasn't too far of a stretch). After a few seconds, he had evidently found what he was looking for, because an expression of realization washed over his face and he nodded.

Silence reigned for a few moments, driving Daniel to awkwardly glance out the window, reminding him that he wasn't in Kansas anymore.

"Do you have any idea of how or why I'm here?" he asked. "And why you're the only one who can see me?"

"Victoria's probably acting as a magical mental conduit allowing for the unconscious transfer of thoughts between us," Rodger stated. Daniel blinked, trying to figure out a way that could work, and the boy sighed. "Um… her mind is acting kind of like a switchboard because we both have mental bonds with her."

"Then why isn't she here with me?" the archeologist asked, wrapping his head around the explanation.

"Most likely, she's in such a deep state of unconsciousness that she's not even on the mental plane."

Somehow, that wasn't reassuring.

Daniel opened his mouth to ask another question, only to have the entire…world, he guessed, melt away.

v v v

Victoria woke slowly. Sort of. She ascended to her usual mental plane slowly, at the very least, groaning at the ache that ran along her left side.

"Ah, crap," she murmured, probing her shoulder with light fingers without sitting up; dislocated, and it felt like the rest of that side wasn't in much better shape. She tentatively brushed the skin of her upper arm, trailing down to the lower and sending the tiny bit of magic she could spare into the abused limb to jump-start the healing process of the two fractures she felt.

The teen took a deep breath and immediately regretted it as fire laced down her ribcage.

"The fuck did they do to me?" she groaned, closing her eyes and sending a kiss of power to each of the three broken bones.

Somewhere between blinks she found herself in the real world, too-bright fluorescent lights abusing her irises in a steady stream past her face. Victoria looked around, trying to wrap her head around exactly what was happening.

She was on a bed (gurney?) which was moving (she was going head first, no way she could see where they were going), a bag of liquid dangling over her (I.V. bag, first fluids in…how many days? She wasn't sure…) and two shadowy figures guiding her chariot, one on either side. An experimental tug told her both that she was strapped down and that freaking EVERYTHING hurt. It felt like someone had cut her open and poked around for a bit which, glancing down at the bandages on her torso, didn't seem like much of a stretch, especially since her black tee and button-front shirt were both gone.

Victoria let her head fall back with a dizzying thud and let herself be hypnotized by the lights, humming something that vaguely resembled 'Stairway to Heaven' until she knew no more.

v v v

Sometime late Friday night, between coffee pots five and eight, Rodriguez wandered into the lab and disrupted Isaac's concentration by existing. He had been analyzing the samples (astounding colour to them, really just amazing) and recording cell growth rate (several types of tissue, the lungs and skeletal muscles, in particular, kept dividing! It was incredible!) when the psychologist stumbled in, looking for all the world like he had just wasted time doing something stupid, like sleeping.

He grabbed a mug and poured himself coffee, yawning and wandered towards Isaacs and his microscope.

"What's the prognosis?" the younger man asked, fighting back another yawn.

Isaac started to talk, explaining excitedly in words he knew Rodriguez wouldn't understand about cellular regeneration and abnormal pigmentation that isn't caused by a copper imbalance for some reason he can't fathom and the iron-based blood that still runs red even though the skin that bleeds it is green as a fucking leaf.

Rodriguez nodded absently along. "So, what's on today's schedule?"

'Today?' Alright, make that Saturday morning; perhaps the whole 'sleep' thing was justified.

"Tissue reconstruction analysis," Isaacs replied, looking back through the microscope lens.

"So, you're going to see how those injuries you inflicted are healing." Rodriguez had flipped through the older man's report over breakfast, deciding about halfway through that he wasn't all that hungry.

The physiologist grinned, unseen by the other man; yes, that's exactly what he meant, and if these tissue samples were anything to go by, it would be a magnificent sight.

v v v

The next time Victoria was aware of anything, she still hurt, but it was mostly the dull, throbbing pain of the body warning that something was still wrong, but it was being taken care of. She was back in her 'room,' the buzzing of the force field droning as she sat up, right hand rushing to her shoulder with a hiss, followed soon thereafter by a curse as agony blazed to life. Her shoulder was almost comically dislocated, folded in towards her sternum with the skin above her breast bulging out.

Biting back a series of increasingly colourful curses, she moved past it, almost laughing with relief that the only other injuries she could find were the ones she already knew about. Moving back to her shoulder, she fed magic into it to numb the area until the room started to spin.

The teen swung her legs over the side of her bed carefully, placing her bare feet (those bastards stole her shoes) on the cold concrete as she wracked her memory for Janet's lesson on dislocations from the week (or, what she thought was the week) before. Ever-so-carefully, she lowered herself to the floor, scooting to the foot of the bed.

"Spaso technique," she told herself through gritted teeth. "It's the Spaso technique." Victoria grabbed the metal leg around the same height as her collar bone, and moved back until her arm was straight and her lip was bleeding from her biting it.

"Ninety degree angle, check." Her vision was dimming, and she shook her head, breathing deeply through her nose until the darkness receded. She brought up her right arm, grabbing her humorous above the splint (how thoughtful, they splinted her arm but left her freaking shoulder on vacation in Utah without the rest of the joint) and slowly rotating it until a dull clunk and a sucking sensation told her it was back in place.

A strangled sob broke past her lips and she clutched her arm to her chest, curling around it protectively and perversely happy that no-one had thought to give her any food because she was almost certain that it wouldn't have stayed down.

v v v

"You didn't set her shoulder?" Dr. Isaacs roared, rounding on Bill. The smaller man shook his head and scurried away, probably to drop test tubes and spill acid on samples.

Rodriguez drew closer to the small television (Isaacs had bullied one of the techs into running the "almost live" video feed directly into the lab), inspecting the curve of the girl's back and the bones just visible through very dirty BDUs.

"Has anyone given her anything to eat?" he asked, freezing the other doctor and two assistants in place. They looked at each other guiltily as their boss turned an impressive shade of red. The psychologist took that as a "no."

"I'm going to bring our guest some breakfast while you work this out amongst yourselves," he informed them, rising and heading out the door as the fight resumed behind him.

His first stop was the storage room where MREs and other eatables were stored, and he grabbed a blue sports drink, a bottle of water, a large apple, and a few other things that he thought might come in handy before heading towards the teenager's cell.

v v v

A familiar buzzing tickled the edges of Victoria's senses, growing more persistent until the door opened and the shrink from before was there, smelling like sleep, coffee, and food. Her stomach grumbled in response, gnawing at her insides in a painful reminder that she hadn't eaten in several days.

She brought her head up to glare at him, stopping him halfway between the door and the folding chair from before. Hair fell into her line of vision and she growled, blowing it out of the way, unwilling to move from her protective crouch.

In response, the doctor moved slowly forward, stopping just short of where the force field was and laying out his load for her to inspect.

Two large bottles, one full of water and the other electric blue, caught her eye and the acute dryness of her throat made itself known as she tried to swallow without much success; a stack of protein and energy bars sat next to them, accompanied by an apple, an orange, and an MRE labeled as 'Mac and Cheese.'

"I thought you might be hungry," the shrink, Rodriguez, she thought, explained. He sank to his knees and opened the water, moving slowly and making sure she heard the crack of the seal breaking. Wrapping a hand around the neck, he took a sip himself before replacing the cap and rolling the bottle through the shield.

Neither breaking eye contact nor rising from her defensive huddle, Victoria caught the bottle with her right hand. She deftly unscrewed the cap with one hand and sniffed the liquid before tilting her head back and chugging the entire bottle in four gulps. Then she carefully replaced the lid, placing the bottle under the bed and turned her gaze to the blue liquid.

Rodriguez repeated the process, breaking the seal, sipping, and rolling the bottle through for Victoria to guzzle. That bottle joined the first and soon she had eaten three energy bars, the entire orange, and enough chocolate protein bars that her fingers tasted sweet.

The entire time, neither moved save for the systematic open-taste-close-slide and soon the psychologist felt that he could talk with a reasonable chance of the teenager answering.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

She sent him an incredulous look and glanced down at the bandages on her otherwise bare torso, the angry brown splotch on the left side of her chest that was the beginnings of a spectacular bruise, and the splint immobilizing her arm.

"I meant from the food, but yeah, stupid question, I guess." He scratched the back of his head in a manner so reminiscent of Daniel that it physically hurt and she averted her eyes. "Is there anything I can get for you?" he asked, noticing the goose bumps rising on her exposed green flesh.

Victoria eyed him wearily, glancing up at the dark corner she knew the camera to be in. Rodriguez followed her gaze, confused for a moment before he realized what she was looking for.

"We don't have microphones," he told her, turning back to the teen. "Just the camera."

The teen stared him for a long moment, possibly reading his mind if her file was right, before deciding that he was telling the truth.

She licked her chapped lips, relishing the moisture for a moment, before speaking. "A couple Advil and a sweatshirt would be nice," she croaked, only half joking.

The psychologist nodded, and rose to his feet. Unwilling to look submissive, Victoria followed suit, standing tall even as she curled her left arm close, supporting it with her right to not strain her shoulder.

Dried blood flaked off her bare stomach and clavicle, fluttering to the floor like macabre snow as her captor turned away.

"I'll see what I can do," he assured her before walking out the door, the steel clanging shut with an echo of finality.

v v v

"Report."

"Our two operatives have been back on active duty for two days, SG-1 is no closer to figuring out where the subject is, they'll be put back on active duty by Tuesday if Frasier can't find some excuse to keep Jackson in medical, and Hammond has started writing the consolation letter for her personnel file."

"Excellent. Any chance that SG-1 will stop looking for her?"

"Unlikely, but in four days they'll have no choice but to relegate it to non-work hours."

"Perfect. Can you get a copy of Hammond's letter?"

"Once it's put in the subject's personnel file I will be."

"Good. That might just be the push we need to break her."

"Understood; it'll be at drop off Omega Zed by Monday evening."

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><p><strong>Coming Next Month:<strong>

**Chapter 23: Bonds that Tie  
>In which unintentional consequences become apparent and sixteen-year-old logic prevails.<strong>


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